Katie bags a Festival first
She came close, though.
The waves of emotion began to cascade through her almost as soon as Poker de Sivola breached the finish line, a beaming smile and eyes closed as she tilted her head towards the heavens.
All you had to do was ask her a question about her family – and her dad, Ted, in particular – and the voice would quiver but she pulled through and reserved her tears of happiness for the privacy of the weighing room.
“I’m lost for words,” she said. “I don’t want to sound soft but this is definitely the best day of my life. My father is the person I go to whenever I need something. I know how much this means to him but it means very much to me as well.”
Sent off a 14-1 shot, the seven- year-old was under pressure after the second-last as Nina Carberry kicked for home on Becauseicouldntsee, but Walsh battled hard to hold on.
“It was as good as the day we won the Grand National in 2000 with Papillon (with brother Ruby aboard) and I went over in the box with him when I was 15. For him to win that was fantastic and this is on a par with that.”
Katie had won at Cheltenham before but never at the Festival. Now that she has, she follows in the footsteps of her old man who had four winners here and Ruby whose record in the Cotswolds needs no introduction.
Her brother was one of the first to greet her when Katie and Poker de Sivola breezed into the winners’ enclosure and Ted, her mother Helen and sister Jennifer were just as quick to join in the celebrations.
Said Ruby: “It was wonderful watching my little sister winning. It was delightful and emotional and you know my father also won the race, although I got beaten in it.”
“Poker de Sivola was running a bit lazy,” said Ted. “She just keeps hunting him along and he keeps finding a bit. I thought at the second last that second was as good as Katie was going to be.”
When Katie and Poker de Sivola broke for home up the hill they were accompanied by Becauseicouldntsee who had none other than Nina Carberry urging the mount down the straight.
Urging too much as it turned out. Both Carberry and Walsh were subsequently banned for five and four days respectively when stewards ruled Katie had used her whip excessively and Nina likewise without giving her mount time to respond.
It was hardly any surprise that both women wanted it so much. The pair have long been friends. Carberry, as usual, is sharing a house with the Walsh family this week but all that was parked at 1.30pm yesterday.
“She is after having a couple of winners here and she knows how much I’d like one,” said Walsh. “You try your best. We are best of mates but out there is out there.
“Nina has top job for Noel Meade and you have to be as good as she is to be champion amateur and it was great to get ahead of her today. She is a great friend of mine and she knows how much she means to me.”
It was one hell of an effort from Becauseicouldntsee who lost a shoe before the off and refused to be reshod. To come so close after four miles on three shoes was almost worthy of the win in itself.
But it wasn’t to be. This was Katie’s moment. And her family’s. Trainer Ferdy Murphy may be no blood relation of the Walsh clan but he was just as overjoyed to be part of such a memorable moment.
“I go a long way back with the Walsh family and Ruby and Katie’s grandfather, who was also called Ruby, was like a father to me.
“I’m so delighted for her family. Nina rode this horse last year but, unfortunately for her, she was already booked for the other horse and I was delighted to get Katie.”
Poker De Sivola is now poised to run in either the Irish or Scottish Grand National. “I entered him for the Irish National this morning and he’ll either go for that or the Scottish National,” confirmed the West Witton handler.
