Ruby stands over welfare remarks

Ruby Walsh has stood over his comments, made on Tuesday after the death of Our Conor at Cheltenham, which have been greeted with anger by animal welfare activists in the UK.

The champion jockey had been asked about the demise of the Barry Connell-owned five-year-old who suffered a back injury in the featured Stan James Champion Hurdle on the opening day of the Festival.

“It’s sad,” said Walsh at the time, “but horses are animals, outside your back door. Humans are humans. They are inside your back door. You can replace a horse. You can’t replace a human being. That’s my feeling on it.”