Ruby Walsh may have 52 Cheltenham Festival winner under his belt, but the Kildare rider admitted he's not immune to the unique excitement and trepidation the gathering brings as he looked ahead to the biggest week in the National Hunt calendar.
Walsh has had countless golden moments at Prestbury Park over the years, but he's not taking anything for granted.
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Speaking to RTÉ Sport's Cheltenham Podcast, Willie Mullins' stable jockey spoke of the pressures and demands that come with the Festival, and looked ahead to the potential stars of this year's showpiece.
"What you're trying to do is get the horses into the races that they have the best chance of winning," said Walsh.
"In years gone past we had a lot of individual horses for individual races but this year we seem to have quite a number of horses for the same races.
"Willie has them in good nick and it's up me then to choose the one I think will win.
"I've been thinking about it a lot for the last couple of weeks and I have myself convinced that if I can get the majority of the calls right then that will be a good return because there's no way I'm going to get them all right.
"I'm under enough pressure, not so much from Willie and owners but from myself to perform and be as good as I can this week. I tend not to worry about the outside pressure that I can't control.
"People's expectations... I think I've a higher expectation for myself than anyone else does."
Of the split with Gigginstown Hosue that saw Michael O'Leary and his brother Eddie withdraw 60 of their horses from the Mullins yard, Walsh added: "That's life. You have to keep moving on. You have to play with the cards you've been dealt and make the most of them.
"Crying over spilt milk doesn't get you anywhere. We're missing plenty of good horses but we're here now with what we have and we'll have to make the best of what we've got."
Listen to all the action from Cheltenham live on RTE Radio next week, from 1pm on Radio 1 Extra and LW, and on the Ray D'Arcy Show from 3pm.
