Exclusive Interview with Paddy Brennan: Reflections on Cheltenham, Legendary Rides, and Racing’s Future

Last updated: February 27, 2025 by Leon Marshal

Paddy Brennan, the esteemed Irish jump jockey celebrated for his triumphs at the Cheltenham Festival and his unforgettable Gold Cup victory aboard Imperial Commander in 2010, sits down with the Best Betting Sites team for an exclusive interview. Drawing on his illustrious career, Brennan shares insights into the thrill of Cheltenham, the pressures of racing legends like Cue Card, and the future stars of horse racing.

Cheltenham Festival and Gold Cup Insights

It’s that time of the year again Paddy, we are gripped in Cheltenham Festival mania! All eyes are going to be on Galopin Des Champs in the Gold Cup. As a former Gold Cup winner yourself, with Imperial Commander in 2010, are there any runners you think can defy the odds on favourite this year?

Yeah, it’s beginning to get a bit exciting now leading up to Cheltenham. Obviously, Galopin Des Champs is going for his third Gold Cup, and he looks to be the shortest-price favourite in the Gold Cup – certainly in my time.

Is there a horse that can beat him? Possibly not, but I do think Grey Dawning is a horse that’s had one mishap in the King George where he was disappointing, but if you go back to his Betfair Chase run he finished second and was just beaten so he has a chance.

I think he’s a horse that is best in the Spring, back at Cheltenham where he likes, that could run a massive race in the Gold Cup.

“If Grey Dawning doesn’t run this year, then I think The Real Whacker has a real outsider chance. He’s a big runner, and I think at 50/1, he could be a good horse to back for a place.– Paddy Brennan on a Cheltenham Gold Cup Outsider

You rode and claimed top-flight success at all the major festivals – Aintree, Punchestown, Cheltenham – so can you tell us what a Cheltenham winner means for jockeys, trainers and owners?

Cheltenham Festival doesn’t compare to any other meeting for me when I was riding. Yes, you’ve got Aintree, you’ve got Punchestown etc. but there’s only one Cheltenham. The minute your car turns in off the road from that long drive in, it’s just – yeah, your tummy is – you’re getting butterflies.

It’s just the people that make Cheltenham and the horses as well, but the atmosphere is unbelievable – I’ve never played in a massive stadium like Old Trafford but this, for me, it’s just as close. Any winner at Cheltenham is big, like when you win the Gold Cup it’s big but any winner at Cheltenham feels like the Gold Cup.

How unique is Cheltenham? Desert Orchid famously did not want to run right-handed but no mention was ever made of the course’s other features. In hindsight, if the Gold Cup and other Festival showpiece races were run on a flat track (Aintree possibly), would the results have been or be drastically different?

Cheltenham is unique, it’s the undulations up and downhill, and yeah compared to a flat track it really is chalk and cheese. I think like Epsom, the Epsom Derby, it’s different to any other flat track and you bring your very best horses there. So, I always think to go and win a Cheltenham Gold Cup you are riding the very best horse.

“I think if the same race was in Aintree, it would be different, it would be easier.– Paddy Brennan on the unique challenges of Cheltenham

I think Cheltenham just really brings the cream to the top and the toughest horses win.

Paul Nicholls, and others, are seemingly putting less importance on the Cheltenham Festival and targeting the Aintree Festival. In your opinion, should all roads lead to Cheltenham with it considered the plinth on the pantheon? And what are your thoughts on the Festival becoming a five-day affair?

Regarding English trainers, Paul Nicholls etc., saying they’re going to concentrate more on Aintree rather than Cheltenham, well the reason they’re doing that is they realise their horses aren’t good enough and they don’t want to go there (Cheltenham) to finish 3rd or 4th.

They’re winners and realistically they know that there’s no point going to Cheltenham. As for a five-day Cheltenham, for me, it cannot happen. When you see last year with smaller fields and smaller crowds, you put in another day you could have a race with just three runners. At the moment I would say no, you never say never, but I can’t see it happening.

This Year’s Festival Picks and Predictions

Turning to this year’s Festival. If you could hand-pick five mounts in five races, what would they be? …And who would you like to see enter the Winner’s Enclosure? We are presuming Fergal O’Brien having his first Festival winner would be high up the list?

If I could ride five horses at Cheltenham they would be – Lulumba for Nicky Henderson in the Triumph, Galopin Des Champs for Willie Mullins in the Gold Cup, Jonbon in the Champion Chase, Constitution Hill – every jockey wants to ride him. Finally, Dysart Enos, I’d like to have a go on her again.

“I’d love to see Constitution Hill win the Champions Hurdle. – Paddy Brennan on which horse he’d like to see win at Cheltenham

I’ve spent all year trying to find someone to beat him, but he keeps proving me wrong. I think it would be brilliant if he could win again.

19 years ago, Shamayoun gave you your first Festival winner at odds of 40/1! Not many horses win at Southwell at 20s (or similar) and double-up at Prestbury Park three weeks later. In your opinion, is there any horse with a similar profile that might run a big race at a big price at this year’s Festival?

I think looking for a real outsider at Cheltenham, I think Dysart Enos – trained by Fergal O’Brien – sort of disappointed last time and she’s getting a bit forgotten about now. She’s quite a big price for the Mares Hurdle, I think at 25/1, and she definitely hints at a bit of value.

She loves Cheltenham, and yeah if she could come back to form she could run a massive race.

Memorable Horses and Career Highlights

You never took the mount on Cue Card until he was nine and already considered, in racing circles, a national treasure. Did that bring much pressure? And, we have to ask, how well was he going in the 2016 Gold Cup before falling? To the naked eye he appeared to be ‘swinging’ – in your opinion, would he have won?

Yeah, Cue Card didn’t bring any pressure, to be honest. I came on to ride him off the back of a really ordinary season, his form had really gone downhill so my first time back on him was actually in a racecourse gallop in Wincanton and he really impressed me.

When I was riding him for the first time in the Charlie Hall I really fancied him and he was a very impressive winner. Then he went on to win the Betfair, King George and obviously fell in the Gold Cup.

How well was he going in the Gold Cup? Well, he was going unbelievably well at the time when he came down but for the first two furlongs of the race, I wasn’t happy. From the minute I jumped off it [the ground] was actually really dried up, it was nearly good ground, and he was just feeling it a bit.

It really confused me because when I was going out to ride him I never expected that would happen. So, through the race he definitely wasn’t happy but the moment he came down he started tanking with me. Look, I think we would have won, the connections of Don Cossack still think they would have won – so we’ll never know.

Six wins and six seconds on Pigeon Island including success at the Festival … little wonder you gave him a home on his retirement! And Nacarat turned up at your wedding (something we have to mention), are there any other horses, forgotten heroes, you developed a real soft spot for?

Honestly, such happy memories with Pigeon Island, he was a legend. Everyone, even when I won the gold cup, everywhere I went people were talking more about Pigeon Island rather than Imperial Commander he just got such a following, especially around this area in Cheltenham.

Highland Hunter was a horse that didn’t make it to the highs of Cheltenham, he was at the other end of the scale where we sadly lost him at the Cheltenham festival. He was one of my very favourite horses, he was a grey as well.

We nursed him back after a year off with a leg injury, he was given to us actually from Thomas Barr. We had some real fun with him, he was beautiful, and he tried so hard, almost too hard – so yeah it was good.

Irish-trained horses began to dominate at Cheltenham as your own career flourished. Did that fact ever tempt you to return to Ireland with the hope of setting up a relationship with a major yard – something Davy Russell did with great results?

I definitely went through a period in my career where I thought I needed to change something. I did think of moving to France, obviously with having family, it was a big decision, but the right job did not come up there after I’d been riding out there a little bit for Tom George.  

I didn’t really look to Ireland because all the gaps were filled over there. Every yard, every trainer had their own jockeys so there wasn’t really an opportunity. But yeah, it crossed my mind to try and go somewhere to find Imperial Commanders and Cue Card because that’s what was keeping me going and I kept looking for them but, unfortunately, we didn’t find another.   

The Future of Racing and Jockey Insights

When you retired at Cheltenham, on a winner of course, you said: “It’s time for the next generation of jockeys… It’s a tough gig…” Of the current crop of conditionals, in your opinion, is there anyone that appears destined to reach the top? Who is the most under used and possibly underestimated riders right now. Is it possible we could see a rider that is not retained by a major stable becoming a champion jockey anytime in the next five or 10 years?

Regarding conditionals in the next crop, a couple of names that spring to mind – Jack Hogan is still a conditional, Liam Harrison has just come out of his conditional years. It’s so hard for these lads, until you get a bigger job it’s impossible to envision being champion jockey or anything like that, but they are two lads that I certainly think can go to the top.

“Liam Harrison has had a really slow start to the season, but he’s an example that you never give up, you keep your head down, and talent will shine through. – Paddy Brennan on potential future stars

You need the horses, you also need the luck, and it has become harder because yes, you’ll hear about the big trainers, but in the last fifteen years I reckon there are about twenty trainers that have retired – and that is not good for jockeys or racing, so yeah it’s a tough, tough game.

What’s your view on the mental and physical demands placed on jockeys in the current day? Is there anything you would change or introduce for jockeys outside the bounds of the racecourse and what’s one piece of advice you would give to aspiring jockeys?

The only thing I’d maybe change for jockeys is just a little less racing. I never thought I’d say this, but I am because it’s just so hard on them. The travelling times with so much more traffic on the roads now than there was fifteen years ago. They would benefit from a day off a week.

If I could give any advice to any young jockey, it would be to just ride the storm. I always thought when things weren’t going well if I could just hang onto a tree the storm would stop, and I would get going again because it is really full of ups and downs.

You go through a stage where everything you ride wins, and then you go through a stage where everything you ride gets beaten. There’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. So, ride the storm.

Finally, on a serious note, how are you enjoying retirement, and what’s keeping you busy these days? What’s next for Paddy Brennan?

I knew retirement was coming for a long time, so I was preparing. How am I enjoying it? It’s good I’m busier now than I’ve ever been probably, well maybe not as busy as when I was doing seven days as a jockey.

I’m doing a show called Unbridled on Sky, we set up Paddy Brennan Racing Syndicate which has four horses, and I’m doing talks plus a few Cheltenham previews. Furthermore, we’ve got a yard here where we keep a few horses on rest and recuperation.

“So yeah, it’s good. Nothing will ever replace riding a winner, that feeling is irreplaceable, but I knew that, and I still enjoy watching horse racing today.– Paddy Brennan on life after racing

Embrace the Excitement at the Best Betting Sites

As Paddy Brennan eagerly anticipates the triumph of Constitution Hill in the Champions Hurdle, fans and punters alike can share in the excitement of the upcoming Cheltenham Festival.

Whether you’re inspired by Brennan’s expert insights or ready to place a wager on his predictions, explore your options at the top horse racing betting sites.