During the summer, Mark Enright had what he describes as a "magic day" when he won the Galway Plate at Ballybrit aboard 33/1 shot, Clarcam.
A few years earlier, the jockey had been in a very different spot.
Speaking to Robert Hall in an interview broadcast during RTÉ's coverage of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival, Enright told of his battle with depression in recent times.
"It started out as nothing," the Limerick man told RTÉ Sport.
"It started out as tiredness. I wasn't sure what it was.
"I'd heard of depression on the television and the internet but I didn't know what depression was. I suppose, over time it got worse and worse until it all came to a head.
"I couldn't find any one trigger, to be honest. I didn't want to be in a crowded room. I didn't want to talk to people. I suffered in silence. I didn't know what to tell people. For a long time, I didn't know what was wrong with me."
While walking home from Kildare town one day, Enright called into the house of fellow jockey Mark Walsh. He had initially intended the visit to be for a cup of tea. He got much more when Walsh contacted Dr Adrian McGoldrick from the Turf Club.
To be honest, if Mark wasn't there that day, I wouldn't be doing this interview. It had gone to the point where I didn't see any point living on. It just got that bad, I wanted to get out and that was it.
I called into Mark for a cup of tea like I do most days. I used to say when I was leaving, 'toodle-doo Mick'. Roger Loughran nicknamed him 'Mick' years ago. That's what I planned to do. But I called in and broke down over a cup of tea.
He rang Dr Adrian McGoldrick straight away. Adrian came over and he was jotting stuff down on his notepad. I was in an awful state trying to get it all out.
He was just very calm and to start with didn't say very much. He rubbed me on the top of the head and said, 'Right, that's fine, we'll have you right as rain in no time, this is what's wrong. You're going to have to go to St Pat's for a little while, the mental hospital in Dublin.'
There was something about his calmness about the whole thing there and then that took a massive weight off my shoulders.
Initially, Enright did not want to enter St Patrick’s Mental Health Services. His impression of such a facility was one of the patients wearing straight jackets in padded rooms.
However, he came out if it in a better place. He also went public regarding his troubles.
"I did my stint in St. Pat's. I was out, I was going back racing and I didn't want to lie to anyone. I was a little bit paranoid that some people knew and some people didn't.
"I rang Adrian and I said, 'This is bothering me.' He said, 'Do you want to go public with it?' I said, 'Not particularly but if you think it's a good idea.' He said, 'If it's bothering you, get it out there. We'll get it out in the open and you can get on with your career and your life.'"
Enright says that family and friends, including within the racing industry were vital in his recovery.
"I had shut them all out and I didn't realise they were there. I thought I was on my own and that I was the only one struggling.
"You hear, 'Talk to someone. You need to talk to someone.' The hardest thing is that you don't know what to say.
"You need someone that you can trust or a doctor. You just need to get the word out there and tell them."
If you are having troubles, and need someone to talk to, here are some useful numbers. Find the one that's best for you.
Samaritans: 116 123
Childline: 1800 66 66 66 or Text "Talk" to 50101
Aware: 1800 80 48 48
Pieta House: 1800 247 247
You can watch Mark Enright speaking to Robert Hall below.
Mark Enright spoke to Robert Hall about his battle with depression, and the importance of sharing your struggle #RTEracing pic.twitter.com/VE17MkCW1q
— RTÉ Racing (@RTEracing) December 26, 2018
Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
