RacingBetter News
	Wednesday 20th April 2022

What Made Ruby Walsh Such an Amazing Rider?

Whether you’re a horse racing fan or not, you’ve probably heard of Ruby Walsh. The former Irish jockey is one of the most famous names in the sport and rightly so, boasting a staggering 24-year horse racing career that will inspire generations of jockeys to come.

But what made Ruby Walsh such an amazing rider?

Early Years

The horse racing record of Ruby Walsh doesn’t depict a tale of a man who woke up one day and decided to try his hand at horse racing. No, Walsh was seemingly destined to become one of the most famous jockeys to ever live, kickstarting his career by winning the Irish amateur title twice as a teenager.

In fact, Ruby’s father is none other than Ted Walsh, a Grand National winning trainer and 11-time champion amateur rider. Saying that horse riding runs in the family is somewhat of an understatement, with Ruby’s sister Katie also being a winning rider, his other sister Jennifer being his agent, and his brother Ted Jnr also working within the horse racing industry.

As a family, the Walsh’s have been part of many incredible horse racing moments over the years, and this was highlighted for all to see when they sat down with friends to watch back some of the greatest moments recently in a Grand National Gogglebox. 

Statistics

If someone asks why Ruby Walsh was considered such an amazing rider, you only need to point them towards his CV which is swarming with a vast array of achievements over his 24-year career.

Some of these highlights include the fact that Walsh amassed a whopping 2,756 career wins, making him the third most successful winner in British and Irish jump racing history.

Of these wins, Walsh rode 59 winners at the Cheltenham Festival between 1998 and 2019, becoming the leading jockey at the festival 11 times. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Walsh won the English Grand National on his first attempt at just 20 years old and went on to win it a second time 5 years later.

You could fill seemingly endless pages with Walsh’s records, and so much so that it is difficult to pick out the highlights. Moments such as becoming the Irish jump champion 12 times, achieving the fastest ever century of winners in Irish jump racing history in 2007, and riding 7 winners over 4 days of the 2009 Cheltenham Festival barely scratch the surface.

Injuries

It wasn’t always an easy ride for Walsh, however, and he has suffered many serious injuries over the years. Some of these injuries include a broken leg in 1999 which he later broke a second time, fractured wrists, a dislocated and fractured hip, a cracked elbow, dislocated shoulders, a cracked vertebra, and even a fall that would require him to have his spleen removed.

Of course, there are many other injuries that Walsh had to deal with over the years, but these are simply testament to his ability as a jockey. Despite all the setbacks, Ruby Walsh would go on to win over 2,700 races in his career, placing him right in the upper echelon of horse hiding legends.