Last weekend, 17-year-old Joey Sheridan left an indelible mark for himself at the Curragh.
The young Tipperary jockey had never ridden a Willie Mullins horse before in a race. But the legendary trainer tasked him with riding the Royal Illusion in the Tote Irish Cesarewitch last Sunday.
He didn't just take the responsibility but rode Royal Illusion to victory. This week, he was our special guest on Friday Night Racing.
He only found out he was riding Royal Illusion at declaration time on the Friday.
"I didn't even actually see him to be honest," he said.
"It was Joe Doyle who said it to me: 'Jays, you're down for one of Willie's Sunday'. I just couldn't believe it and I was straight onto my phone and had a look at it.
Unbelievable
"Even to have my name down beside one of Mr Mullins' horses, that was unbelievable. For him to go and do what he did was great."
Sheridan also shared an insight into the day itself and Mullins' instructions to him.
"He said to be up in the first six or eight and that didn't really go to plan now," he said.
"They lined up around the outside and they all came in. I got shuffled back a small bit. We were a bit further back than I wanted to be. But in hindsight it was probably good because they're fairly clipping along down the soft ground. So I just let her creep into the race and she just kept extending, thank God."
Still in his formative years as a jockey, Sheridan also touched on his Ballydoyle heroes that have influenced his growth.
"I basically grew up for three-and-a-half years riding out with the likes of Seamie Heffernan, Donnacha [O'Brien], Wayne Lordan, Padraig Beggy, Emmet McNamara and Michael Hussey. So I suppose all along from an early time, I was riding out with them," he said.
"Seamie and all the lads in there were who you used to look up to from that point. And I still do. Seamie is very good for advice to me."
Joey Sheridan added: "You're around the best of the best from 12-13 and it was a grounding for me."
Our racing coverage is in association with Horse Racing Ireland. You can watch the full Joey Sheridan interview above via our YouTube channel.
