We’ve picked a winner in Ruby

THE Galway Festival kicks off on Monday, but already the Irish Examiner has landed the biggest winner of the week.

Ruby Walsh, widely acknowledged as the finest National Hunt jockey this country has produced, has joined the Irish Examiner, and begins a racing column on Monday to coincide with the start of the seven-day Galway Festival.

Punters’ favourite Walsh, 28, is the reigning Irish National Hunt champion and sets the standard for jump jockeys. Ruby’s a man who speaks his mind at the appropriate time. He’s not a man given to loose talk, but when he talks, the racing fraternity listens.