Ruby at the reins for Cheltenham countdown

THERE’S only one thing Ruby Walsh wants more than wins from the weekend — to walk out of Limerick tomorrow unscathed and ready for the biggest four days of the season at Cheltenham.

“At this late stage, nothing else really matters, but you still have to do your job and the plan is to get among the winners and to put Cheltenham out of one’s mind,” Walsh writes in his exclusive ‘The Talk of Racing’ column in today’s Irish Examiner.

Racing’s No 1 pilot will be marking your card in our special daily 16-page pullouts throughout next week, providing readers with the most reliable stable whispers and advice.

Looking ahead to the Festival, he reveals: “Celestial Halo’s looking hot, if his work at Paul Nicholls’ yesterday morning is an accurate guide. I know he’s been below par this season, but is bombing right now and you could do worse than have something on each-way for the Champion Hurdle.”