Q: Ruby, Is it not a bit unfair to just take the ride on Hurricane Fly after Paul Townend has done all the work?
Ruby Walsh: I don’t know who’s going to ride at this stage and that’s the honest answer. I haven’t asked. But life ain’t fair. Is it fair I broke my leg?
Q: Have you ever ridden a horse into a pub, Carberry-style?
Ruby: No. I’ve ridden a bike into plenty of pubs alright but never a horse.
Q: Would you have been be riding Peddlers Cross in the Champion Hurdle if Jason Maguire’s ban wasn’t overturned?
Ruby: I hadn’t been offered the ride on Peddlers Cross that but Jason got a day off the ban and is able to take the ride now and I’m glad that’s the case. It was very wrong. Nobody can know if they’re going to mark a horse. Jason Maguire didn’t hit that horse any harder than he hit any other horse but this one just happened to be marked. It’s wrong.
Q: Can Kempes win an open Gold Cup?
Ruby: Of course he can. His form would suggest he’s a better horse on good ground even though he won a Hennessy on heavy ground. He’s really got his jumping together. He was a high class flat horse. He looks really well, he’s in good form and it is a wide open Gold Cup which any one of five or six horses can win. He can win but he’s probably a better each-way bet.
Q: Why are jockeys so strong and durable when they are carrying such little weight and muscle?
Ruby: The horse does most of the running! It’s not strength. Physics will tell you that 10 stone can’t stop half a ton. It’s technique, a knack and fitness. Durability is only fitness. It’s a want to do something as well. You’re self-employed. There’s no-one guaranteed a job, no-one guaranteed a ride. You have to do it. There’s nobody owed anything in racing.
Q: What are you riding in the Gold Cup? Hard to get off Kauto?
Ruby: I’ll be riding Kauto Star. I’ve ridden him in the last four. Why change now? I wouldn’t be riding Imperial Commander or Long Run. Tony McCoy would be riding Kempes. So it’s him or Denman and their form is pretty much the same. I’ve always ridden Kauto so I will again.
Q: Did you take up any new hobbies when you were out injured?
Ruby: No. I do play a bit of golf but I couldn’t do much of that with a broken leg!
Q: Who will be top Festival jock IF you’re not?
Ruby: I suppose Barry Geraghty because Nicky Henderson has an army of horses. It could be AP too. He could get off to a flier on the first day with the likes of Binocular. I think it’s a good bet because it gives you an interest in an awful lot of races for a long time over four days for one bet. Willie has a lot of horses going too. I wouldn’t be able to ride them all and Paul Townend might be a big price.
Q: What sporting achievement that you were not involved in would give you most pleasure
Ruby: Ireland winning the Grand Slam in Cardiff. I was there and it was a wonderful day. The atmosphere, the crowd. I love rugby anyway. I’ve been to FA Cup finals, I was in the Nou Camp when Man United won the European Cup final in 1999. That was a wonderful day but I would love to have been on the Irish team that won the Grand Slam. I suppose it’s because the Six Nations takes such a short length of time. It’s run over five weeks. The European Cup goes on all year.
To turn up in Cardiff, watch Rog’s drop goal and then sit there watching Stephen Jones take the penalty. Could you imagine standing in front of the post looking at him going to kick it. I’d say they must have been nearly in tears. Where I was sitting, I knew fairly much straight away that it wasn’t going to go over. He never got the height to go the distance.
Q: Is there ever a changing-room equivalent of a dressing room bust-up between jockeys?
Ruby: There’d often be an exchange of words but the penalty that comes with fighting would put you off it straight away. You get 14 race days for fighting, which would be the equivalent of banning a GAA player for a season, or a soccer play a 14 match ban. So there’s your answer. No matter how much you dislike someone, you ain’t going to let it cost you that living.
We get on well. Jockeys respect jockeys. There would often be words if someone takes someone else’s ground, or knocks them over, runs across in front of them coming to a jump but words are usually where it would say. There are different lads you’d listen to when they start giving out; there’s others are always giving out like me that nobody takes any notice of!
Q: Is it time to write Zaidpour off for the Supreme Novices’ or will we see a different horse at Cheltenham?
Ruby: I wouldn’t be writing him off anyway. He’s working really well, he looks really well. The only thing is, his best form, even on the flat is on soft ground. It’s been dry and that might be a worry but a fast-paced race will suit him. He’s a good jumper and a good traveller.
Q: Surely a leg break as bad as the one you suffered makes you more cautious from here on?
Ruby: Initially when I broke the leg and I was in the ambulance 10 minutes after the race, after just spending four months out with a broken arm, I was thinking “why me?” I’d be lying if I didn’t say that when I was in Victoria Hospital that night I was thinking “why is this happening to me?” I never thought “this is it” but I knew I was facing another three, maybe four months out. It was awful hard to take.
But then you get operated on, start rehab and you can’t wait to get back. It’s what I do. There are a lot of people in worse positions than me. A broken leg is fixable. A bit of wire, a bit of metal, screws, rods; tighten ‘em up and away with you.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/HsedqX0fI8c/post.aspx
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