Jody McGarvey

One man’s misfortune can often be another man’s gain and with both Barry Geraghty and Mark Walsh out through injury recently, I’ve been lucky enough to get a lot of opportunities for JP McManus and things have been going great.

My week would consist of riding out in Christy Roche’s two days a week, spending a few mornings in Joseph O’Brien’s and then meeting different trainers with horses for Mr McManus on the Curragh so things have been going really well, thank God.

Joseph’s horses are really after hitting form and I’m getting plenty of winners out of it and things have just fell into place this season. I think I’m on 14 winners already this season and my best ever season was 20 so hopefully I’m on course to better that this season.

I’m from Coleraine and had absolutely no background in horse racing at all when I was younger but I would have ridden a few ponies and did a bit of showjumping. But a showjumping arena was all I knew about horses. School wasn’t for me though so when I heard about the apprentice school, RACE, that was a nice solution to put to my parents and things have gone on from there.

I was a late bloomer. I was always catching up with people my own age. I’d say I was 17 before I sat on a racehorse and I was 18 or 19 before I had my first ride on the track and 21 before I rode my first winner but I’m 26 now and as time goes on you progress and I’m after catching up.

I’ve been in Christy’s nearly 10-years now, I’d get in there two mornings a week to ride out a few lots. I spent a bit of time in England and did a year with Evan Williams, but things just didn't take off over there so when I came back to Christy’s I got a couple of winners early on for JP and from there I gradually got more and more involved and I’m lucky enough I’m part of the team now.

It’s a great team to be a part of and I’m in the very lucky position to be riding for such an owner and the biggest owner in the sport. And even when Barry and Mark are around, there’s that many horses that I would still be busy and in the winter Barry could be in England and I’d still have the opportunity to come home with a winner and I’ve ridden plenty of winners in the blue or red cap as well because there are so many runners. It is important that I make the most of the opportunities because lads don’t be around forever in this game and you’d be hoping with natural progression that more rides might come your way and you can climb up the ladder.

At the moment I’m lying fifth in the jockeys championship and that is a position I would have never dreamt of being in at the start of the season so I’ll make the most of it while I can.

Great Field has been the highlight of my career so far. It was just by chance that I got to ride him the first day but in fairness to JP McManus, Frank Berry and Willie Mullins, they all stayed loyal to me and I got to ride my first Grade 1 winner on him at the Punchestown Festival. It doesn't matter how many winners you ride, you have to be riding the big winners, that’s what it is all about.

Great Field is a horse that a lot of people are going to be looking forward to this season. He has beaten everything that has been put in front of him, and I don’t even know how good he is. He won a Grade 1 and more or less won on the bridle - we are yet to get to the bottom of him and I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet. I think he is quite capable of making the step up from a novice into open company.

He finished up the season on a mark of 160 and this season's Champion Chase winner was 165 so with natural improvement you would imagine he’d put it up to them in those good two-mile chases.

At the start of the season I wanted to beat 20 winners and it’s nice to get the numbers but I’ve ridden two graded winners and a listed winner already this season and it’s about getting the big winners. Cheltenham winners and Aintree winners and places like that are what you dream about as a kid and hopefully now I’m putting myself in a position to make those dreams a reality.

Barry is going to be back for Galway next week but unfortunately Mark is not going to make it back in time. For me, there’s no competition. Barry is first jockey, Mark is second and I’m third. Mark would be one of my best friends and as much and all as I love having winners, I’m just as happy to see Mark riding big winners, and there’s no rivalry there whatsoever, it is the complete opposite. It’s just a shame for Mark the injury came at the time it did and put him out of Galway but JP will always have a few runners in the big races and being on any of those in either the Galway Hurdle or Galway Plate you’ll be in with a chance but with Mark being on the sidelines I’m just going to have a slightly better chance than normal this year and who know’s… a bit of luck on our side and I might nab one of them.