Iron man Ruby and Russell get just rewards
I’ve said it before and will say it again, Walsh is an iron man. Realistically, it should have been virtually impossible for him to do what he did on Tuesday, and ride three winners.
No matter what sport you play at the highest level, it takes a lot of time to get back, following serious injury.
Paul O’Connell is a very good example, for instance, and only now is he threatening to return to the standard he has set for himself.
You can argue, of course, that for a jockey, it is different and the horse does most of the work anyway.
But it is not as simple as that. Riding horses, when you’re in the very best of company, demands fitness and skill, and Walsh really should not have proved capable of being immediately as good as ever, with so little match practice.
Politically correct people bore one to tears, but there is no possibility such an accusation could ever be levelled at Davy Russell.
He got his few winners, deservedly so, having gone out on a limb as far as Hurricane Fly taking the Champion Hurdle was concerned, indicating he would wear a Waterford jersey at their Cheltenham preview-night next year if the horse failed to do the business.
After Hurricane Fly had won, I was in the process of making my way to the winner’s enclosure when hearing Russell’s voice booming out.
“Pat’, he shouted, “I will not be wearing a Waterford jersey next year.”
It was a classic moment, although the sudden flush of financial success almost certainly coloured the thinking!
Watching the morning line on Tuesday, it was disappointing no one took John McCririck to task for a completely uncalled-for comment regarding Brian O’Connell, who was riding Dunguib later that afternoon in the Champion Hurdle.
Some bookmaker’s representative had just told McCririck there was money for Dunguib and he made a derogatory remark about O’Connell.
It was a hurtful, throwaway line, playing to the gallery, and should have been challenged by those sitting in the studio.
Meanwhile after racing on one of the days, I headed down to the weigh-room to rendezvous with Ruby Walsh.
Just as I arrived, he was asked by two high-profile English organisations for an interview, but responded: “I’m sorry, haven’t time, have to finish my column.” For some reason, I got a delicious kick out of that.
I was screaming with hunger on Monday afternoon and went to the bar in the hotel for something quick to eat. Met a man who was familiar, but didn’t know his name. He was mad for racing and we got chatting.
Turned out he works for the United Nations and has seen duty in a number of hot spots, the likes of Bosnia.
His latest assignment saw him spend three years on the Gaza Strip. He described it, rather nonchalantly, as “a difficult gig”.
Maintaining your sanity in a place like that, for a dyed-in-the-wool Munster man, for such a length of time, could not have been easy. He told me how he did it.
He said: “I used to read the Examiner every day on the internet and I also brought a Sky box with me to Gaza.
“I managed to tune into the frequency for At The Races and was able to keep in touch with all of the racing at home.”
Imagine watching, say, Thurles or Tramore in Gaza? I could have listened to him forever.
