Ruby’s ride into history a gem to lift the gloom

IT’S those things in life that people maintain can never be done that fuel mankind’s ability to consistently disprove the theory, and yesterday’s Cheltenham Gold Cup only underlined the point.

At issue was the ability of any former winner of racing’s Blue Riband to come back from defeat and regain his crown. It had not been done in 85 runnings of this race and there were those who defiantly maintained it would never be done.

Yesterday they were proved wrong when Ruby Walsh rode the 2007 champion Kauto Star to a remarkable second victory, having been demolished in last year’s race by stablemate Denman.

This time around, it was Kauto Star that did the demolition and, under a cool, thoughtful and, above all else, determined ride, he steered his mount back into racing’s holy-of-holies, the winners’ enclosure at Prestbury Park.

National Hunt lore has it that such are the demands placed on racehorses by this three-and-a-quarter mile stamina-sapper, they never come back for a second bite.

Sure, every couple of generations or so we get a freak of nature — Golden Miller, Arkle, Best Mate — that will go and win three times. But to win one, lose one and come back and win another, well, that just doesn’t happen.

And it had not happened until yesterday when Ruby and Kauto finally put to rest one of racing’s greatest certainties.

When asked if his 2006 Gold Cup winner War Of Attrition could come back and win the race, Michael O’Leary famously said that it was “an owner’s duty to be entirely pessimistic” about such an occurrence and history had proved him correct until yesterday.

The emotion that poured from the full-house crowd in the wake of Kauto Star’s victory was a clear indication of the meaning of the achievement and the jockey himself was almost overwhelmed by what he and his horse had done.

“I am afraid I will wake up tomorrow and it will still be Tuesday,” he quipped. And he was not just talking about a remarkable Gold Cup victory, but four days of racing in which he also shattered the record for the number of victories by any jockey at a single festival meeting.

Ruby started the week with a total of 17 career festival winners. The seven he added this week brought his tally to 24 and he is now just one win behind the legendary Pat Taaffe in the all-time standings.

It was performances like this that allowed the crowds here to get lost in the occasion and forget the terrible worldwide financial turmoil that surrounds us.

The festival was an oasis in a world otherwise gone mad and, as such, it will probably be a truly unique occasion anywhere on the globe this year.

How it might be next year when the much-predicted financial rectitude that is set to engulf us all truly hits home, remains to be seen.

It is likely that the Cheltenham authorities are heaving a collective sigh of relief that they got through these four days profitably — even without a lot of the usual corporate backing — but they will surely be bracing themselves for a deeper downturn next year.

This year organisers benefited from the fact that large numbers of their tickets were pre-booked and people were not prepared to allow money that they had already spent go down the drain. That may not be the case in coming years.

But Ruby Walsh almost single-handedly allowed us to forget all about affairs financial and worldwide. Yesterday both he and Kauto Star demonstrated to us that whatever problems lie ahead, we can still lose ourselves in the magnificence of achievement.