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As the excitement builds on the eve of another Cheltenham we all have our own favourite memories from Festivals gone by.
For a select few it is the memory of riding, training, breeding or owning a Festival winner, but for the majority of us these memories are more likely to be linked to winning bets we struck on the horses.
My Racing StorySponsored By Tote
Like everyone in racing, you kind of start off with ponies. I did a bit of pony club and hunting and that. Dad (Michael Hourigan) always had a busy yard, so we rode out before we went to school. It was a great grounding, and I was lucky in the sense that I didn't have to go away anywhere. We always had plenty of horses and ponies at home to mess around with. I had my first ride when I was 16 in a ladies' bumper in Killarney. Dad always had plenty of Kerry owners and enjoyed having runners in Kerry. I kind of got bitten by the bug, I suppose. I had the majority of my rides for dad, and I was always working at home. I wouldn't have had the number of winners I had only for dad. I did have winners for others as well, though. My best day in the saddle came on Moonmeister in the Ladies Derby at the Curragh (2019). He was a 50/1 shot, but Tony Martin always has his horses fit and he got up by a neck. I had 29 winners on the track, including a hurdle winner, and one point-to-point winner.
Johnny and Tommy agree on the Irish banker
Johnny Ward and Tommy Lyons are back for a Pre-Cheltenham show.
- RED METAL's saddle slipped at Kempton last time so a line can be put through that effort. The four-year-old made a winning debut at Hereford prior to that and is clearly the one to beat based on that performance. Goliath Flight cost 72,000 euros last year and Dan Skelton's gelding cannot be ruled out on his racecourse bow. Any market support for Bannerdown would have to be noted.
