Ruby Always There For Me As A Young Jockey

What a way for Ruby Walsh to bow out!

Ruby is a fantastic person and a wonderful jockey and probably the best I ever rode against.

He was a great help to me at the start of my career.

The first winner I ever rode was at Punchestown and I beat Ruby by half a length!

Growing up, he was always there to give me advice. He was always good to jockeys who were willing to learn and was always on hand to help out. He ticked every box as a jockey. Tactically he was the best, with an unbelievable pair of hands and knew how to get horses jumping.

The Master
Ruby always had a plan made out in his head but he was never afraid to change that plan and that’s what made him so good. Whether a horse was 1/4 or 40/1, if the plan wasn’t working out and the race was going differently than he thought it would be, he’d adapt straight away and wouldn’t even think about it.

That’s what jockeys have to be able to do and he was the best at it.

It was a great way for him to go out in the Gold Cup at Punchestown yesterday. He gave Kemboy an unbelievable ride, because he was a bit keen in front and Ruby has a great knack of being able to hold on to enough to just get him home.

When Al Boum Photo loomed in he thought the writing was on the wall and that he was going to go and outstay him but Ruby did enough to win.