Keith Donoghue

Tiger Roll has made all the headlines this week and he has been an incredible horse for me as he’s given me the best day of my career and the second best day of my career.

Naturally enough winning on him at the Cheltenham Festival last month was by far the best day I’ve ever had but watching him win the Grand National on Saturday was the second best day. There wasn’t one part of me that looked at him and thought I should have been riding him because I know now what my body can and can’t do and there’s no resentment there that I should have been riding him. I was just delighted to see him win the biggest race in the world and for Gordon and Davy to win the race. I got my day on him and I was more than happy with that.

This time last year I was finished with the game and there's no way I would have been writing a piece like this but now I just accept that I can’t do weights below 11st4lbs and I’m happy with that. I knew I was never going to be riding Tiger Roll in the National and therefore I was never going to be disappointed that I wasn’t on him.

It also helped that Henry de Bromhead and Gigginstown were good enough to let me ride Valseur Lido in the race and I got an absolutely brilliant spin off him. He wasn’t a 100/1 shot in my eyes, I didn’t care what price he was it was just a lifelong ambition for me to ride in the race and to be able to live that dream was massive and a long way from where I was with my weight last year.

I got a serious buzz out of riding in the National and I had a great spin the whole way around and a very willing partner who jumped deadly but just didn’t stay.

At the Canal Turn I thought I was going okay but only okay and then Davy (Russell) and Jack (Kennedy) came up on my outside on Tiger Roll and Bless The Wings and I knew I definitely wasn’t going as well as them so I knew my faith then straight away.

Soon after that I could hear the commentator saying that Tiger Roll had gone clear and I actually didn’t realise until I pulled up that there was a photo-finish even so I was delighted he had held on. It was great for everyone in the yard and he’s just an old favourite in Gordon’s so there were lots of celebrations and Gigginstown have been very good to me so I was delighted for them too.

Only for Gordon Elliott though I would be 15 stone now and I’d have been sitting in a bar somewhere last Saturday watching the race rather than riding in it and only for him my career would be over. Last year I couldn’t ride Labaik in Cheltenham because my weight was gone and I just didn’t want to talk to anyone or even leave the house but now I just know how to handle it all and I’m enjoying everything so much better.

Before I would have been getting worried about doing weights and not being able to get it down to takes rides and that would just make things worse. So then I took a break and in my head it wasn’t really a break, I had just finished, but in fairness to Gordon he insisted that I come back and he’s more than a boss he’s a great friend as well.

My head was just fried from doing all the sweating and wasting and I couldn’t care less about it last year, it was killing me.

Then I just came around to the realisation that I could ride at 11st4lbs as my lowest and not try to get down to 10st11lbs or 10st12lbs or anything like that. That what was killing me. I don’t even do 11st4lbs on a daily basis, I mostly do 11st6lbs or 11st7lbs and it is much easier on my body. If it wasn’t for Gordon I wouldn’t be riding and he’s given me every opportunity he can and he understands my situation and knows what I am going through.

I do a lot of running to keep my weight down and sometimes I’d go for a run with the Dublin footballer, Ciaran Kilkenny, and obviously he’s at the very top of his game and it’s always good to talk to somebody like that because you can pick up one or two little things. The Dublin footballers are on a different level and if there is a little thing or two that he says that I can learn from it can make a massive difference both mentally and physically and it all helps. Its often the little things that are a big help.

After Aintree now all roads lead to Punchestown and Gordon’s is a massive team to be part of even just to ride out some of the horses that are in there is a great thrill for me. We all hope that he can hang on in the trainers championship at Punchestown next week and if he does he’ll have fully deserved it because he has put his life into being champion trainer and if I could nick a winner next week for him it would be a bonus but it’s all about trying to see Gordon be champion.

For him to say this week that Tiger Roll is still my ride just gives me great confidence and in an ideal world if I could win the Cross Country race at Cheltenham on him next March and Davy wins the National on him again, that would do fine for me!