Irishman Adrian Maguire is a man on a mission to prove he remains one of the best jockeys in the business.

And where better to show his skills than at Aintree, where he has twice made the frame in the Grand National?

Ten years ago, he recorded his first win on English soil with a victory aboard Omerta in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Twelve months on, and things could hardly have been better as Maguire steered home Cool Ground for a 25-1 shock in the Gold Cup.

Maguire then began a profitable association with Gloucestershire trainer David Nicholson as main rider for 'The Duke.'

Despite missing out on the jockeys' title in some titanic tussles with Richard Dunwoody, Maguire had several big race wins.

He rode Barton Bank to victory in the 1993 King George VI Chase, and took the Festival's Queen Mother Champion Chase a year later on Viking Flagship.

But Maguire has not scored at Cheltenham's big meeting since, suffering a catalogue of bad luck.

Injuries and family bereavement meant he missed three consecutive festivals.

And while he triumphed in the Whitbread Gold Cup (Call It A Day) and Scottish Grand National (Barnoet) in 1998, his partnership with Nicholson came to an end.

But good jockeys are rarely out of work.

And after a spell as a freelance, Maguire was snapped up by leading north of England trainer Ferdy Murphy on a three-year contract in March 2000.