Ruby Walsh: Rachael Blackmore must keep focus on jockey merry-go-round after double disappointment

While there was disappointment for Blackmore, Jack Kennedy and Davy Russell will have gone to bed Tuesday night thinking the wheel had turned for them

Minella Indo and Rachael Blackmore after winning for trainer Henry de Bromhead at Navan in January 2020. Photo: Healy Racing

The jockey merry-go-round was in full flow during the week, and the emotions and pressure of what took place are feelings I most certainly do not miss. On Tuesday evening, the news broke that Jack Kennedy would retain the ride on Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Minella Indo in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase this afternoon at Down Royal.

It was hardly the shock of the century but, be under no illusion, it would still have been a disappointing blow for Rachael Blackmore. He was her ride. She won the Albert Bartlett and the Irish Daily Mirror Hurdle on him in 2019, she rode him in his three starts as a novice chaser and on four of the five occasions he raced last season.