TL: What was your earliest racing memory?

RC: My earliest racing memory was watching the Grand National when I was a kid.

The interest in horses came through the fact that we lived in the middle of nowhere in Ireland outside Banbridge. We had a farm next door with some Shire horses and Draught horses in there.

TL: You moved to England when you were 14 years old and became an apprentice to the late Barry Hills. What was that like?

RC: I loved my time with Barry. It was a great job and I was very lucky when I went there that we had one of the best stable staff in the country. It was a good introduction to horses and learning how to ride them.

TL: You won the 1988 Epsom Derby aboard Kahyasi for Luca Cumani. What did winning that race mean to you?

RC: Winning the Derby is the highlight of your life really. Kahyasi was very laid back and always half asleep and he never showed much at home; that was the way he was. It is a big build up as a jockey and you could start panicking and all this palava can get to you.

However, I knew that Kahyasi was rock solid and it would not bother him in the slightest and, if anything, it might wake him up and he might even sweat a little before the start - but it didn’t and he never batted an eyelid.

It was a fantastic day and it did not sink in until later and I just thought to myself: “I have won the Derby, a scrawny kid from the North of Ireland had just won the Derby”.

TL: Kahyasi also won the Irish Derby that year. How often did you get to ride in Ireland?

RC: I rode in Ireland but not regularly. I won the Heinz 57 twice in the old Phoenix Park, the Irish Derby and the 1000 Guineas on a horse called Ensconse for Luca.

The Irish Derby was a much tougher race because you had Insan of Paul Cole’s, who was 6lb better off than when I beat him at Lingfield. I had trouble in running, but I got up to beat him in a great race.

TL: You also had a close association with the Luca Cumani stable; do you have any memorable races from that time?

RC: There were lots of memorable races. In my first season with Luca, I won the Cambridgeshire for him on Dallas. The following year, we had a horse called Then Again, who we got from Richard Hannon and we won the Lockinge Stakes first time out with him.

He then went on to win the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot and, on the same day, we had a winner with Half A Year, who got up to win the St James's Palace Stakes. It was an excellent start to the meeting.

TL: What was it like to ride for Luca Cumani?

RC: Luca had a brilliant string of horses and they were always immaculate, as well as being looked after and well fed. He was a good trainer to ride for, too, and he knew that I would assess the horse and the race.

We also knew how the horse would be ridden, so there would not be much conversation before the races. There might have been a few conversations after the race, but there were not too many before the race.

TL: You rode so many top-class horses. Who held a special place for you?

RC: I won two classics on Midway Lady; I won the 1000 Guineas and won the Epsom Oaks on her. She had an issue with her tendon and she could not run again. She was a fantastic filly.

Chief Singer won the July Cup and I also won the same race on a horse called Polish Patriot for Guy Harwood. Guy was a good trainer and he had a lot of top horses down there.

The double at Royal Ascot in my first season with Luca was a great day. Selkirk was another one; I won on him in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot. He went around on the bridle and scooted up at 20/1.

Selkirk was a smashing horse. He was in the Sussex Stakes with Marling and that was a hell of a race; me and Pat [Eddery, on Marling] going ding-dong from a furlong out. It went to a photo and Pat said: “Marling’s head was down and mine was up.”

TL: After retiring from the saddle in 2000, you were Frankie Dettori’s agent for 20 years. What memories stand out during your time in that role?

RC: Doing the job was nothing strange to me because when I was getting going and I moved to Newmarket, I used to book my own rides. With Frankie, it was a different calibre of horse and he always wanted to get on the best one.

The Arc in 2015 was a great day. Frankie was riding Golden Horn for John Gosden. I had spoken to him on the Thursday when the draw was done and when he was stuck on the outside, I thought what a bloody nightmare. The race could not have gone to plan better; he turned up the straight on the bridle and he scooted up.

TL: On a more sombre note, you survived a plane accident in June 2000 with Frankie Dettori. What do you recall from that day?

RC: It was a horrible day. The wind was blowing and also, we were taking off on the July track. I had my own plane, so I knew roughly what was going on.

The plane was far enough down the runway and there was a strong gusting wind coming from the left. That lifted the plane and bounced it a few times and the right propeller ended up being ground out on the ground. We were only 100ft off the ground when it took off and we were going to the right, which was in Devil’s Dyke direction and that would have been about 80ft high.

I thought that was good because there is plenty of room to put it down there. Unfortunately, a gust of wind turned the wing tip down and the wing tip caught the top of the dyke and then had flipped it straight into the ground.

I don’t remember much after that; I just remember looking down at the top of the plane saying: “This is going to hurt”. I just woke up and we started getting out. I just wish I had gone in there now and got the pilot out when I was doing it. He more than likely would not have survived as it was such an impact.

Frankie ended up with a broken ankle and we were both fortunate to get out. The pilot Patrick Mackey was tragically killed in the accident.

TL: Did you find it difficult to adjust when you retired from race-riding?

RC: Retirement was extremely hard work. I was very busy on the computer and not being able to go anywhere was a nightmare.

When I was riding, for 30 years I was getting into a car at around 10am and driving up and down the country to get to the races. I think it took me two years of wanting to get up and drive somewhere at about 11am and thinking: “Why am I here and what am I doing sitting in the office.”

But the job was relatively easy for me and there was no stress involved, because I knew I had the best jockey in the world and all I had to do was give him the best rides in the world.

TL: You did some media work for the BBC on their racing coverage in the 2000s. How did you find it?

RC: It was a good job to have and I was on there with Willie Carson and Clare Balding. There was always banter and fun and I did not have much to do bar working in the paddock and I would run through the form with Ian Bartlett. We had some good laughs and I enjoyed it.

TL: What horse have you enjoyed following this season so far?

RC: I love John and Thady Gosden’s grey horse Fields Of Gold. I think he will win again until the end of the year and he will more than likely be a Breeders’ Cup horse.