Winner No 26 for Ruby the record breaker
When the 30-year-old partnered Quevega to victory in Tuesday’s Mares Hurdle he equalled legendary Arkle jockey Pat Taaffe’s record of 25 festival wins – and the wait began for a record-breaking 26th.
When his sister Katie took the honours in the opening National Hunt Challenge Cup, it was the perfect opening act for a story that would write itself from there on in.
Not a bit of it.
Instead, Walsh found himself unseated in his first two races – by Quel Esprit in the Novice’s Hurdle and by the tragic Citizen Vic in the RSA Chase. Not ideal then, but Master Minded would surely remedy all that in the day’s feature.
Well, you’ll know by now how that all turned out.
Destiny, when it finally did arrive in the Fred Winter, came in the poetic shape of Paul Nicholl’s Sanctuaire who romped home in the sort of style that befitted Walsh’s epic achievement.
Relieved? “That’s horse racing,” shrugged the man of the hour. “They’re not machines, you can’t turn them on and then turn them off again, that’s racing. You get a few falls and you get up. One gets beat and you keep going. I’m lucky enough to have plenty of rides and plenty of ammunition coming after me.”
Walsh enjoyed the luxury of taking a pull rounding the homeward turn, and when setting his mount alight it became a procession, with Sanctuaire forging nine lengths clear of market rival Notus De La Tour.
“We needed that,” admitted trainer Paul Nicholls. “Ruby was very keen on this horse when he won at Taunton and although he had a few little problems when he came over from France, all of a sudden the penny dropped.
“He has a lot of ability and will be even more the finished article for his summer out. None of us really knew how good he was and after this he can’t run in another handicap, so it will probably be the juvenile hurdle at Aintree next.”
That it was Walsh who broke Taaffe’s record is fitting. Both men were born in the same parish. They even lived on opposite sides of the motorway and Walsh remembers going racing with his grandfather and picking up their famous neighbour’s horses on the way.
“Anyone in racing would talk about Arkle and that meant they talked about Pat Taaffe. He also won four Grand Nationals. He was very lucky to ride for Tom Dreaper and I’ve been very lucky to ride for Willie Mullins and Paul Nicholls.”
At his age, the mind boggles as to what his finally tally will be here in the Cotswolds but, as he pointed out himself, men like Tony McCoy (on 22) and Barry Geraghty (on 18) are already hot on his heels.
So, how far can he go? “Ah, sure I don’t know,” said his father, Ted. “If he stays sound, with a bit of luck he will add another few to it over the years but it doesn’t make a difference. It is all about what happens now. You can never plan what is going to happen tomorrow or the next day. No one knows anything else. Live for what’s happening now and it is great to be alive. It is a marvellous occasion, absolutely brilliant. It’s what I live for.”
His son’s achievement is only the latest in a career that saw him crowned champion amateur twice in Ireland before picking up six awards in the professional ranks.
“I didn’t think when I saw Pat riding all those winners that Ruby would ride more winners than him,” said Ted. “It is a great occasion especially for me because I am a diehard racing man, if I was going to drop dead I would like to drop dead right here.”
Ted Walsh first made the pilgrimage over to Cheltenham in 1968. It’s a place littered with special memories for him but few will match witnessing two of his children riding winners on the one afternoon.
“I stood and watched Katie have a winner and then half an hour later I’m looking down at Ruby in a melee with Quel Esprit and you don’t know if he’s a hundred percent or not. That’s what racing is, that’s why you appreciate the good things because it is so, it brings you back to a level.
“No matter how good you are, there is something around the corner brings you back down to the floor again so you want to appreciate the good times. I always say to them to really and truly enjoy it and appreciate it. It doesn’t come easy and when it comes with rugby or anything else you just want to really and truly soak it up because it doesn’t happen too often.”
Who knows when it will happen again?
