Darren Treacy was definitely the happiest man in Cheltenham when he led Delta Work in after his win in the 2022 Cross-Country Chase. Treacy led the victor in proudly despite receiving a frosty enough reception after his horse beat the very popular Tiger Roll. The ‘villain’ returns this year as the favourite for the race and one would imagine Delta Work would receive a warmer greeting should he get the job done against his stable compatriot Galvin. I spoke to Darren about his memories from last year, what a day at Cheltenham entails for a groom and Delta Work’s chances of retaining his crown.

How did you get into horse racing?

I grew up around horses, I don’t really know any different. My father trained horses and it was always going to be the career path that I was going to take. I worked for Colin McBratney for the guts of 10 years there. I’m with Gordon about four years now, living in Ballivor, and I’m loving it.

What is Delta Work like to deal with on a daily basis?

Delta Work is very straightforward. He knows his job at this stage. Once he gets his roll after a piece of work he’s happy enough. Very laidback, He’s getting on a bit now so he is quite wise. Just an absolute gent.

What was it like coming back in after that magnificent win in last year’s race?

The fact that he was booed coming in took away from it a little bit. I know a lot of people would have felt that it wasn’t nice to see him beating Tiger Roll, I was happy enough though. It was an absolutely brilliant feeling. Coming into the ring with the two horses walking in together, the reception we received was absolutely unbelievable.

Give us some insight on what a race-day entails for you as a groom, and also for Delta Work, at the Cheltenham Festival.

Delta Work will go out in the morning on the track for a trot or a canter, just to stretch the legs. He won’t be doing an awful lot more than that on the day. After being out on the track, all the horses get brought back in for the breakfast and their bed gets done. We leave them to it then for a couple of hours before coming back and getting all the runners ready for the day. We all kind of work together as a team to get everything ready for the day.

What is the inter yard relationship like between the grooms at Cheltenham?

There is a great bond between all the Irish stable staff over there. Everyone helps each other. In the evening we would all go out together and socialise. Everyone who makes the trip across tries to help everyone else the best that they can. It’s fantastic. Gordon himself might have more than 20 lads going over but really you can count on any Irish stable lad or girl to give you a dig out if you are stuck.

What chance do you think Delta Work has in this years Cross-Country?

I think he has a serious chance. He has been around twice now. He was beaten very far the last day conceding 18lb to the winner. He will have improved since then. Of course, I wouldn’t mind seeing a bit of rain for him. Galvin is probably that bit more versatile when it comes to ground conditions. Saying that though, soft ground is not as important for Delta Work as people are making out. I still think he runs well on good ground but he just has a slight preference for a softer surface.