Jacob finally rattles the net after a few near misses
In the words of one commentator halfway through the festival, the Wexford jockey, who is based in England and is stable jockey to Nick Williams, had already “hit the crossbar and a number of posts”.
Among his near misses were Rock On Ruby who finished second in Wednesday’s Novices’ Hurdle as well as For Non Stop who fell at the second-last when challenging Carlito Brigante for the honours in the Coral Cup later that day.
Deliverance from such torment finally arrived in yesterday’s opener, the JCB Triumph Hurdle, when Ruby Walsh‘ chose’s decision to partner Sam Winner opened up the seat on Paul Nicholls’ Zarkander.
Ruby would lament that decision later.
“My boss Nick Williams has given me good ammunition to go to war with this week and his horses have done very well,” said Jacob after his win. “We have hit the crossbar a few times but it was nice to get a winner on the board.
“It is a big relief, to get one on the board. It is every jockey’s dream to get a winner here and I am delighted with that. We got a dream ride all the way. We picked them off whenever we wanted to pick them off.
“He has got very good pedigree,” said Jacob, whose brother Greg has played hurling for Wexford and sister Lisa has represented Ireland at hockey. “He has got class and he has got stamina along with it. He can jump and he has big lungs.”
Jacob’s day would get better when he helped fashion a fourth-placed finish for What A Friend in the Gold Cup and with it a spot in the winners’ enclosure for himself and a certain Alex Ferguson, who is part-owner.
His was not the first mark made on the festival by Wexford or, to be more precise, a tiny spread of Wexford no more than six or seven miles in diameter found just outside the town of Enniscorthy.
Aidan O’Brien hails from those parts, So, too, do Colm Murphy and Ferdy Murphy who are both regular trainers at the festival these days.
Others in their line of work include Dennis Cullen, Mossy McCabe and Larry Byrne while Jacob and Tom O’Brien, a nephew of Aidan’s, were among a plethora of Irish jockeys on duty this week.
