Charity race:It is seven years now since Newmill eclipsed two of the finest steeplechasers of modern times and landed the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Behind him Moscow Flyer struggled into fifth and was promptly retired. Earlier in the race a young Kauto Star had fallen. Newmill in contrast made most of the running under Andrew McNamara and won by nine lengths.

A month later the headstrong galloper won by 15 lengths at Punchestown. He ended the season as the undoubted king of the two-mile division. It was the high point of a 48-race career that saw him win a dozen times and notch up prize money of close to €750,000. It is only two years since he retired but next week he will be back at Cheltenham for a special event.

Gráinne Loughnane, a solicitor, is one of 12 amateur riders aiming at the St Patrick’s Day Derby, a post-race contest to generate funds for cancer research, and in Loughnane’s case also for the Cari Foundation, which helps provide therapy to victims of sexual abuse.

For the Dubliner, the race will also provide an opportunity to show a positive story about horses past their peak but still able to provide enjoyment. “Newmill is an example of how there can be life for horses long after racing. It doesn’t always have to end up in the factory,” she says, only too aware of how the public perception of how racing treats its horses has been damaged by the horse meat scandals of recent months.

After Newmill was retired, Lougnane was given the now 15-year-old bay gelding by his West Cork owner Mary Hayes in order to learn the new discipline of showing.

To those of us who remember him as something of a tearaway, with even top professional jockeys such as Barry Geraghty hanging on grimly, it takes a shift of gear to imagine Newmill in the more sedate world of the RDS.

“There have been a couple of occasions when he got hot but generally he has adapted very well. It’s all about walking, trotting and cantering, a bit like dressage. And he’s been brilliant, taken to it straight away. He has won rosettes at the RDS,” says Loughnane, an experienced point-to-point rider, who has also ridden over the banks at Punchestown.

The Cheltenham race will allow her to experience the thrill of riding over one of the world’s most famous courses, and on a horse that might be older but still has enough in the tank to provoke memories of what he used to be.

“He has been in training for this since November with Luke Comer . . . He’s still got a bit of toe. And he pulls my arms out every morning. But he’s manageable,” says Loughnane.

“I actually worship the horse, love him. He’s treated like a king. I’m conscious of his age and we mind him. But he’s clever and can take to anything if given the chance.”