CHELTENHAM:IT MAY seem hard to imagine now, but at the start of Cheltenham 2009 Ruby Walsh thought his luck was out. But after two more winners yesterday brought the champion jockey's tally for the week to seven, he was left with a modern-day festival record as well as a memorable Gold Cup success.
Since the leading jockey award was inaugurated here in 1980, five winners has been the greatest tally for any jockey, but like most everything else in this hardest of sports, Walsh seems to be re-writing the record books.
Kauto Star was his 24th festival victory, which leaves him just one short of Pat Taaffe’s Cheltenham record. He also needs just a Champion Hurdle to complete a clean sweep of its biggest prizes.
It’s hard to believe, then, the 29-year-old figured on Tuesday it wasn’t going to be a good week.
“Kempes made a mistake at the first in the Supreme – chance gone; then Tatenen fell at the third in the Arkle – chance gone, and then Celestial Halo got beat a neck in the Champion Hurdle. I was thinking, ‘Jesus, it’s going to be one of those weeks’,” he laughed yesterday.
Instead, it became a very special four days, with American Trilogy yesterday running away with the County Hurdle just over an hour before Kauto Star’s famous Gold Cup triumph.
“I’m very lucky to ride for Paul Nicholls and Willie Mullins and they have been in great form this week,” he said with characteristic understatement. “I just hope I don’t wake up and it’s Tuesday morning. That’s all I’m hoping now – that it’s actually real!”
Only for Pride Of Dulcotte to miss out on the Albert Bartlett by half a length, it could have been even greater, but that horse is a reminder of how there are worse things for a rider than not winning.
It’s only four months since Pride Of Dulcotte fell here, injuring Walsh to such an extent that his spleen had to be removed. But the jockey’s famous determination remarkably saw him back in action within 28 days.
Yesterday Pride Of Dulcotte had to give best to Weapons Amnesty, the sole Irish-trained winner of the last two days, which brought the visitors’ tally for the week to nine, one short of the 2006 Irish record.
The 8 to 1 winner got the better of a prolonged duel with Pride Of Dulcotte up the run-in to win by a neck and provide Limerick trainer Charles Byrnes with a first festival winner.
“I’ve been second in this race twice before (Powerstation in 2006 and Liskennet last year), so it’s a great feeling to get a winner here,” Byrnes said.
Davy Russell, in contrast, was coolness itself on the surge to the line, but even though Weapons Amnesty was travelling best at the last the jockey was far from convinced he had the race in the bag.
“My biggest problem from a long way out was that I was going too easily. I knew he would idle in front so I didn’t want to hit the front too soon. But it’s Cheltenham – how long do you wait?” he asked afterwards.
Barry Geraghty completed a memorable festival of his own with Zaynar’s defeat of Walkon in the Triumph Hurdle, which had no fairytale ending for Oliver Brady’s hope Ebadiyan. The quirky grey cocked his jaw and ran out at the second-last when disputing the lead.
Zaynar’s trainer Nicky Henderson completed a double with Andytown in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Hurdle, while the ex-Irish point to pointer Cappa Bleu landed the Foxhunters under jockey Richard Burton.
After a week of near-misses, Walkon’s trainer Alan King left it to the concluding Grand Annual to finally notch a festival winner as Oh Crick got the better of Moon Over Miami.
Everyone else, though, was in the festival ha’penny place this year behind Ruby Walsh.
