Geraghty’s Grand National Chances

Barry Geraghty has already been lucky enough to experience what it’s like to win a Grand National when we achieved this much coveted feat winning on Monty’s Pass in 2003. He ran a great race and was always in contention from the outset but ran so strongly that he could afford to take his mind off the winning post long enough to look over his shoulder on the run-in before winning by 12 lengths ahead of Supreme Glory and Amberleigh House.

This was part of an incredible winning streak for Geraghty who only three weeks earlier had been the winning jockey at the Cheltenham Festival with five wins. In between the two meetings he had alos come fifth in the Midlands National at Uttoexeter which might not sound fantastic until you realise that his saddle had slipped and he rode bareback over the last three fences!

And then, the day before the National, he won the £46,000 Martell Cognac Sefton Novices Hurdle on Iris’s Gift, trained by Jonjo O’Neill which has to be considered a pretty impressive week by any jockeys standards!

The Geraghty family have been involved with horse racing for generations, his father being the renowned horse dealer ‘Tucker’ Geraghty and his brothers Ross and Norman are also jockeys. Geraghty was apprenticed to Noel Meade at Castetown, in his home town of Meath, at the age of 17 and rode his first winner under Rules, Stagalier at Down Royal. It took only three years for him to became the Irish Champion Jump Jockey for the first time.

His first Grand National appearance was in 2000 on Call it a Day but the horse was not on good form and he went off at 50-1, while Geraghty’s great friend and rival Ruby Walsh rode Papillon, a 10-1 chance. Walsh won, while Geraghty came a respectable sixth.

He won in 2003 and rode Monty’s Pass again in 2004 but came in 4th and again in 2005 finishing 16th. Under Martin Pipe he rode Puntal in 2006 and finished 6th, came 3rd in 2007 on Slim Pickings, 4th in 2008 on the same horse and in 2009 partnered with Golden Flight but fell at the first fence!

Over all he has had quite an astounding record at the Grand National so 2010 shouldn’t be any different. If he gets a good horse with suitable conditions he could be in for his second victory…

For all of the ante-post odds for the Grand National 2010 just check out Paddy power Bookmakers.