Jump jockey Jonathan Burke was in an upbeat mood when he spoke to The Local Answer.

And for very good reason too because the recently turned 26-year-old had just hours before ridden winner number 43 for the season, which in turn took him another step closer to his best ever campaign.

Throw in the fact that this year’s Cheltenham Festival is just around the corner and it’s little wonder that Burke had plenty to be happy about as he returned home from Catterick.

The good news is that he has since passed that season’s best – set two years ago when he had 45 winners – and now it’s all systems go as he looks ahead to the four-day extravaganza that is the Cheltenham Festival, which this year runs from Tuesday 15th March to Friday 18th March.

Burke has experienced the thrill of riding a winner at Cheltenham, although not yet at the Festival – “I’ve had quite a few second and third place finishes,” he said – and would love to add a Festival winner to his increasingly impressive CV this year.

“From a job perspective, I try to treat each day at the Cheltenham Festival as just another day of racing,” said Burke, who is based with Slad trainer Tom George.

“But I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t that little bit more excitement ahead of the meeting. The Cheltenham Festival is a big part of our season, it’s the atmosphere, the buzz, it’s a level above.”

George, who has been a top-level trainer for more than 25 years, knows what it is like to saddle a winner at the Festival, of course, and he has sent out a good number of Burke’s winners in recent times.

“Hopefully this will be my year to get a winner, that would be great,” said Burke. “I’m still the right side of 30 but it all boils down to opportunities and how your body stands up, you need a bit of luck with injuries.”

Like all jump jockeys Burke knows all about injuries – he broke his collarbone twice last season but still finished the campaign with an impressive 38 winners to his name.

Injuries are part and parcel of being a jump jockey but even when he is forced to sit on the sidelines, Burke, who is originally from Cork, loves everything about the sport.

“I’m very fortunate because I’m making a career out of my hobby,” he said. “My dad Liam is a trainer in Ireland and when other boys were being given a football I was given a pony.

“I was never forced or pushed into racing but it was always inevitable that it was the path I was going to take, I’ve never regretted it.”

And if Burke has his way he’s going to be a jockey for many, many more years yet.

“You look at some jockeys and they’re going on until they are 42, 43, 44,” he said. “Again you need a bit of luck with injuries but I want to go as far as I can.”

That’s not only in terms of time but also in terms of his career path – you don’t get to be among the top 15 or so jockeys in the country without having plenty of ambition.

Burke has recently bought a house in Broadway with his girlfriend Frankie so is putting down roots in the area and he clearly has a sensible head on relatively young shoulders – unlike quite a few people his age he has a pretty clear plan going forward, so much so that he knows what he’d like to do when he finally stops racing.

“I’d like to be a racecourse commentator,” he said. “It’s something I’ve stumbled across. I’ve done a bit in Ireland and it’s something I’ve really enjoyed.

“My father has built up a massive training facility and that’s in the back of my mind but at this point training is not for me. I’ve had an interest in the commentating for a while.”

Talk to Burke for just a couple of minutes and it’s obvious that he has the voice for it – happily he has not lost his Irish accent – and he obviously has the knowledge. He talks very well and comes across as a very nice bloke; typically, ask him where he fancies working as a racecourse commentator and he says simply, “Wherever I’m welcomed.”

That’s all in the future for Burke, of course, who also gets plenty of support from Lambourn trainer Oliver Sherwood.

It was for Sherwood that he rode the aformentioned winner at Catterick – Guerlain De Vaux in a novices’ hurdle.

It was his only ride of the day and represented a close on 400-mile round trip to the north Yorkshire course.

“Yes, it’s a long journey,” admitted Burke as he headed home to Broadway. “But If I hadn’t made it I wouldn’t have had the winner.”

And it’s that driven attitude that will surely help Burke realise his ambitions in the world of racing in the weeks, months and years to come – hopefully starting with a winner at this year’s Cheltenham Festival.