Barry Geraghty will attend the Cheltenham Festival this week for the first time as a retired jockey.
The legendary Meath rider partnered five horses to victory at the meeting in 2020 before retiring from the saddle later that year.
With last year's Festival being run behind closed doors, this will be Geraghty's first time back at the meeting since hanging up his saddle.
The 888sport ambassador said: "I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been there for most of the meetings throughout the season, and that’s given me a good taste for it heading into the Festival, and I’m really excited. It will be very different, but not in a bad way.
"I don’t think I’ll struggle with being a spectator and it’ll be nice to not be stuck in the scrum of it all for once.
"I have a completely different outlook on racing these days. I got a great buzz just from watching Shishkin and Energumene in the Clarence House, and that was only the tele!"
On the importance of having a crowd back, he added: "Whether you’ve got the race in the bag, or no chance at all, there was always time to appreciate the atmosphere and the crowd at Cheltenham.
"You could be 20 lengths clear on Sprinter Sacre with the crowd at full volume, or tailed off in the four-miler, it was always special.
"It sounds as though it’s going to be a big crowd this year and you might struggle to get a cup of tea in the place!"
Geraghty will be cheering for Constitution Hill in the opening race of the week, the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, after preparing the horse at home before selling him to owner Michael Buckley.
And the 42-year-old is confident that the Nicky Henderson-trained five-year-old can get the job done.
He said: "My connection with the horse aside, I think he’s the one you’d want to be on. If he was my ride, I wouldn’t swap him for anything else.
"That said, it is one of the most competitive races at the meeting. There’s Dysart Dynamo, Jonbon, Kilcruit, and then even the likes of Mighty Potter and Three Stripe Life mean there’s serious depth to the Supreme as well.
"I have a lot of faith in Constitution Hill’s ability, but it’s a proper race.
"I would say you could describe him as lazy/laid-back. You wouldn’t normally dare put a child up on a young horse, but when we had him we could happily put the kids on him.
"The kids were four, nine and 14 at the time, and they all had a good time on him, he was just so laid back.
"Physically, he’s a nice big horse, and going-wise he wouldn’t mind it being on the soft-side. He’ll cope with good-to-soft, but he wouldn’t want it much faster."
And Constitution Hill is in Geraghty's top four bets of the week.
He explained: "Sir Gerhard in the Ballymore would have to be my strongest fancy of the week. If he lines up in that he’s going to be very hard to beat.
"Constitution Hill would be in my top four for the week two. I obviously know the horse well and have a bit of an extra incentive to want to see him win, but he’s a lovely horse and must have a big chance in the Supreme.
"I think Saint Sam is very interesting in the Arkle and he’s a bit of a price. He’s open to plenty of improvement after just the two starts over fences.
"And then I’m going to keep the faith and go with Minella Indo in the Gold Cup. He’s yet to give his best this season but is a true stayer and should run a big race if he’s fit and well."
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
