Attendances are a lasting barometer to judge the success and relevance of a venue or event. Looking back at some RTÉ footage last week of Lester Piggott’s association with the Irish Derby at the Curragh it was evident just how big a deal the event was in years gone by. The race attracted huge crowds from the 1960s through to the 1980s. One year in particular when Jackie Kennedy turned up over 60,000 people came to watch.

I'm from Garristown in north county Dublin. I would have got involved in racing through my father Tommy O'Neill who was a trainer when I was growing up, and basically a jockey as well, so I was very much immersed in the horse industry. We always had horses in the yard at home, so I kind of learned to ride before I could walk! I started off with ponies before I progressed on to racehorses.