Ruby Walsh is one of the most popular National Hunt jockeys of current times. He is a national institution in Ireland and is much loved this side of the Irish Sea as well.
Ruby Walsh comes from a great National Hunt dynasty. Born in County Kildare, Ireland in May 1979, he is the son of the former amateur champion jockey Ted Walsh, and came to prominence in 2000 by winning the English Grand National at his first attempt (at the age of only twenty) on Papillon, a horse trained by his father. Since then he is the only jockey to have won all four home Grand Nationals (in 2004-05 he won three in one season, only losing the Scottish National by a short head).
Ruby Walsh has ridden over 1,600 winners to date, including 1,000 Irish winners, and the Irish jump jockey’s title on eight occasions. He rides for two powerful stables: Willie Mullins in Ireland and Paul Nicholls in Britain, for whom he has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice on Kauto Star.
In 2009 he was leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival when he rode a record-breaking seven winners over the four days. His 2010 win on Sanctuaire made him the Festival’s most successful jockey ever, beating Pat Taffe’s record of 25 wins.
In 2009 he won the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Master Minded, the Hennessy Gold Cup on Denman, and at the Boxing Day meeting at Kempton he re-wrote the record books again when Kauto Star became the first horse in history to win the King George VI Stakes for the fourth year in a row. And in 2010 he cruised to victory in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle on Big Buck’s.
His searingly honest and compelling autobiography charts the incredible success story of an immensely talented and popular force in the world of sport.
Buy it now: Ruby: The Autobiography
Allison is the Publisher of Eclipse Magazine. She loves going to the Races and is learning to bet (despite being officially the worst bettor in the History of the Universe), there’s a lot more to learn…
