Townend the fall guy in Hurricane call
Under normal circumstances, he would have been impossible to dislodge but Ruby Walsh is no ‘normal’ jockey. So it was that Townend was left trailing in the seven-year old’s wake yesterday on board Thousand Stars after Walsh’s successful recuperation from a broken leg over the winter and last week’s crashing fall at Naas.
Walsh claims he was in the dark about the riding plans for Hurricane Fly plans as late as two weeks ago but, realistically, there was never any doubt but that Willie Mullins would choose to seat his best jockey on his best hope for the Champion Hurdle.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Mullins. “Ruby is our stable jockey. I called Paul aside one day and just said to him that I was putting Ruby on the horse at Cheltenham and Paul said ‘well, he is our stable jockey’.
“I said I know it is disappointing but I said ‘I hope to make you champion at home’.
“I think he is 10 in front at the moment so that will be the focus. I think Ruby was more disappointed when I said to him I wasn’t going to give him all the choice rides between now and the end of the season.
“I said with all his injuries that he hadn’t really got a chance of getting it and I said ‘I hope you don’t mind’ but I think he did. Anyhow, I’m lucky to have two guys like them. They are both very level-headed and I think Ruby would be behind Paul to win the championship. Fair is fair.”
After the day Walsh enjoyed yesterday, Mullins’ decision now looks like something of a no-brainer but questions would have inevitably been asked had the afternoon not panned out quite so perfectly.
Was he ever worried about Walsh’s fitness?
“No. I had been chatting to Ruby regularly during his off-time and I saw how fit he was. With that cage on his leg as well he was able to walk which allowed him to keep his muscles up and when he came in to ride out, I could see that there was nothing wrong there. Ruby half-fit is better than most other fellas fully fit.”
At just 20 years of age, Townend’s time will come at the festival.
He has already claimed more than enough Grade Ones to attest to that and he enjoyed a fine ride in yesterday’s Champion Hurdle when guiding another of Mullins’ entrants, Thousand Stars, to a fourth-placed finish.
It was Walsh’s first success in the race but the winning jockey took time out from the back-slapping and celebrations to pay tribute to his young stablemate, pointing out that Townend had told him to “watch out for X, Y and Z” before the race.
“Paul Townend has done a great job,” Mullins added. “He has ridden him out every day this year apart from a couple of days when Emmett (Mullins) rode him. He has kept him right. This morning was the first time that Ruby sat on him in months.”
Walsh’s return from injury to claim an opening day hat-trick was the headline story on day one of the festival — and rightly so — but Hurricane Fly’s own, interrupted, journey to the summit has its echoes.
Mullins paid tribute to the owners George Creighton and Rose Boyd, pointing out that many people in the same boat would have switched yards after their prized possession missed out on two successive festivals with injuries.
The suspensory ligament and splint injuries that prevented Hurricane Fly from making his debut in England the last two years finally gave way to a period of prolonged health and ideal preparation in 2011.
Given what had come before, Mullins could hardly believe his luck.
“I’ve been counting down the days and minutes until this race. The minutes were like hours towards the end but once I legged Ruby up and got him off down to the start, the relief was there. I was afraid that he would get a kick in the parade ring at the last minute.
“A lot of people in England hadn’t seen him run but we felt he was going well. People said he had only beaten Solwhit but Solwhit is a good horse and Hurricane Fly proved himself today."
