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This terrible blunder at either the last or second last in both hurdles and chases but more particularly in chases is becoming a bit of a habit and a serious problem. He just seems to be riding very poorly. He never seems to ask a horse at a fence to lengthen stride to meet it better. He is obviously a good jockey so why is this becoming such a problem for him? Today for example in the first Race although beaten for first Let’s Dance pecked on landing at the last,just giving the horse no momentum and despite this came third closing rapidly all the time. Then we had Bellshill who he just completely misjudged the pace to go on that ground . Next race we have the same jumping problem with Pont Alexandre but this mistake put him totally out of the race. Then we have his hopeless effort on Valseur Lido where he just let the horse get in too close. These mistakes today combined with Annie Power last year, arctic fire in the Aintree hurdle, a horse for his father during the summer, children’s list in Galway, au quart De tour in fairyhouse before Christmas, killutagh Vic, un de sceux at Christmas, Djakadam last week, avant tout and uranna in thurles ten days ago make this fast becoming something of a problem. I don’t buy into the conspiracies about him doing it on purpose. You would want to be a fair idiot to sabotage a horse race by purposely making a horse crash into a fence and potentially kill both yourself and the horse, so I’m working on the basis that these mistakes are all accidental. Is it his technique? Is he too cocky to think that any horse he is on is so fit that they will be able to jump the last as though it were the first? Does his style of staying as still as possible on a horse trick us into thinking that the horse is running well when in fact its under severe pressure?
What are the opinions on here?
I’m really torn here because I think Ruby falls at/off the last way more than any other top class jock but i also think you have taken your analysis a bit too afar…….some of the races / horses you’ve picked are just bad luck and the way horse racing plays out sometimes…… in term of races lost that i would classify as “his fault” i would say annie power in cheltenham and au quart de tour in fairy house…the blame for these horses not winning definitely lies at his door….i.e. p towmend would’ve won on them….however djackadam, killultagh vic, bellshill, can’t have it, sorry.
P.S.killultagh vic should prob be removed from that list as that error could not be laid at jockeys door
Can only comment of the races I have seen but I think you may be being overly critical on incidents that can simply be filed under the unfortunate/unlucky bracket.
Arctic Fire – Ruby asked him up off a perfect stride and the horse didn’t fully commit
Annie Power – she simply took off too early and landed on the hurdle (probably as a result of where the shadow of the hurdle was from the sun).
Bellshill – the winner was never further back than 2L from him and going to 2 out Ruby still hadn’t moved but when he did on the home turn he cut out very quickly (in much the same way as Nichols Canyon did in Irish Champion and Up For Review did at Doncaster)
Ponte Alexander – stride wasn’t there and he was flat out (personally think he needs to go up to 3m) so he left the horse only, he just brushed the top but stumbled on his first step (similar to Killultagh Vic). For me it didn’t cost him the race and I don’t feel that he is a horse that finds as much off the bridle as one would think he will.
Un De Sceaux – was asked off a good stride put the horse put in an extra stride which meant he couldn’t get his front end up quickly enough.
Djakadam – wasn’t the fact that he was too close that caused him to fall it was just that being slighty downhill his backend came up too high which meant he was too steep coming down – he did the exact same thing with Paul Townend four out in the JLT two year ago.
Valsuer Lido – did the exact same thing as Ponte Alexander but where that horse stayed straight after his stumble Valsuer Lido shifted to his left which meant Ruby’s momentum was still going forward (compare it to Killultagh Vic who also stayed straight which enabled Ruby to stay on board).The point about him sitting still is an interesting one as some take the view that moving around in the saddle can easily unbalance a horse and cause a mistake to be made. Depending on how clever the horse is, sitting still and letting them sort themselves out can be effective but you often hear jockey’s say that some horses need to be organised at their fences i.e. need help from the jockey to make their mind up.
Interestingly, if you watch Un De Sceaux’s jumping in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot there were several times where he put himself right at fences (shortening his stride) without Ruby doing anything but at the third last he asked him up on a very long stride (much longer than the one he asked of him at Leopardstown) and this time he answered and was at full stretch to actually make it.
I would whole heartedly agree that the fact that he sits so still for as long as he does can at times be very misleading as to actually how much horse he still has under him – more often than not the horse does find plenty off the bridle but again it obviously depends on the horse. It may also be that the jockey can be fooled as well as nobody truly knows exactly what the horse has left until that button is pushed….will you get a Harchibald type response in the Champion Hurdle or a Vautour in the JLT.
For me a ride that really didn’t show him in a good light was the one he didn’t gave to Cardinal Palace in the G2 13:20 race at Leopardstown on 24 January 2016 – hopefully the attached link works (horse with the noseband in orange and green).
One thing AP said in an interview a few years back was that Ruby has complete faith in the horse under him to jump a fence. AP said he could not have this mentality. Maybe that’s why he takes more falls and seems to have more injuries than most jockeys. It’s also a well known fact that a horse appears to be travelling better than it sometimes is when Ruby is on board.
Most people think Ruby is one of the best jockeys ever and he wouldn’t have rode for Nicholls for 10 years (leaving on his own accord) and Mullins even longer if he had flaws such as these. These are great trainers but I think they have had even more success than they would have had if Ruby wasn’t around.
I think its just a bid of bad luck he’s having, although to keep getting up uninjured, this could count as good luck.
I can see your point TWM about him having a few falls. Barry Geraghty also got a bit of stick a year or two back on here when taking last flight falls bur he’s still the second best going
So I think you are way off the mark and the ones saying he is doing it deliberately are even further off the mark
Really pleased to see a thread like this appearing on here.
Not so long ago all the stuffed shirts would just be shouting armchair jockeys, pocket talkers and all the associated drivel.
Richard Johnson has been ripped to pieces for several years for his totally opposite style. Seemingly, Walsh has proved untouchable.
I have raised his ‘style’ recently in respect of Un De Sceaux. This horse was arguably the most exciting in training. Walsh has now reduced him to just another very good horse. He might well win several more races but he doesn’t generate the excitement he once did and with Walsh on top we will never ever see the limit of his powers. Unfortunately, because Walsh is just content to pop him round, there is a fair chance that if he does very occasionally go for a big one the horse might very well make a mistake.
I am not big on stats but pretty sure Un De Sceaux ended a long losing run in Festival chases. Is that pure coincidence or the fact that a jockey is forced to go for a big one more often at the most competitive level? One things for sure it is a whole different ball game to riding long odds on shots in 4-5 runner condition races.
It strikes me that Walsh’s riding style appears to mirror his character. In any interview there is more than a hint of arrogance. Cross me at your peril.
Of course the quiet style may suit some horses, but clearly not all. They say practice makes perfect so if you are sitting relatively still at 99% of fences is it any wonder that whoever you are you might not be up to it when you need to go long.
Sometimes when Ruby is on a cert he will leave it late and sometimes jump the last along side another horse despite travelling all over the other horse, this puts pressure on the last fence jump and if an error occurs it can hand the emphasis back to a horse who has been pushed along and already gone through the gears more so than Ruby’s who has to go then from gear 2 or 3 to five and in quick time, I’d much prefer him to put the race to bed early from being on a superior horse but then I suppose they will say the horse is lazy in-front and has to be produced late but it shouldn’t make a huge difference with so much left in the tank, seems to put himself under unwarranted pressure in doing so.
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Have to agree even though I think he is a top rider. However if you ride the top horses you should win a lot and look good but just recently he as been coming off and making mistakes. If it was STD I would be calling for his head but as Stilvi says because it’s Ruby no one says anything.
What has actually happened, then, that’s turned him from a great jumps jockey to a not very good at the jumps jockey? Any theories?
I don’t think his nerve has gone, and he seems fit enough, so, how does a man who has been working at his trade for 20 years, very successfully, suddenly somehow forget what to do?
Kauto Star had his share of last fence blunders too even when winning, it’s not something new
I think what most of you forget is that Ruby is the one who makes a horse very very good. It’s not that he just gets good horses to ride, he is simply the best NH jockey you could ask for. He is the biggest part of the entire machine and he is the one who gets them in front to the final obstacle. Don’t forget that most of the NH races are being run on very testing ground and that the final fence/hurdle is the one most likely to pose troubles for the horse. Of course he is not the force he used to be 5-10 years ago, that is simply because he doesn’t have youth on his side. But no other jockey on this planet looks better on a horse than he does. He always knows how plan and read a race. He always looks confident on a horse, saves a lot of ground and doesn’t put the horse into (much) trouble. Though he makes mistakes at times this is due to the horse’s fatigue and not to his lack of class.
Don’t forget how many brilliant years at the very highest level Kauto, Denman, Master Minded, Big Bucks and The Fly had between them, mainly thanks to Ruby Walsh. Vautour, Faugheen, Un De Sceaux are no one season wonders, they are already multiple Festival winners.There is absolutely no proof that Walsh has ‘made’ these horses. It just becomes a matter of opinion.
Yes, he does sit still and look confident but that is all very well and good when you are often riding the best horse in the race. It is the times when he needs to be doing a bit more than that I am questioning. When he gets desperate in a finish he doesn’t look that tidy to my eye.
As for saving ground it isn’t really that surprising as most of the jockeys in Ireland seem to let him take whatever position he wants, usually either leading or sitting in behind on the rails. Slightly different in the Bellshill race where McManus sacrificed his rag to help his other runner.
I’d like to see stats to back some of these assumptions (i.e. that he has more last and second last fence falls than others). Another thing to bear in mind is that he is almost always in with a chance at the business end of a race so , by merely being involved competitively more often at that stage he is going to take more falls, numerically if not as a %.
He isn’t getting younger and time plus injuries do take their toll on every jockey but he is a master and along with Johnson and Geraghty we still have three of the greatest ever riding still.
The mark of a great jockey is that when it really matters on the big day they make the least amount of mistakes in a race and get the job done – Ruby is in a privileged position as he has had access to the best horses around both when sharing the Nichols/Mullins rides and now even more so with just the Mullins yard.
That fact gives a jockey massive confidence (which is crucial when riding) but you still have to go out there and execute on the day and whilst it is fair to say thet messers McCoy, Johnson, Geraghty etc were/are no less capable than Walsh of winning but for me I prefer Walsh’s quiet style over the busy way his rivals ride.
At the end of the day it is easy for all of us to sit back and say the jockey should have done C D & E instead of A B & C but we are not on top of half a ton of racehorse travelling 30 mph+ that may or may not be getting tired trying to second guess whether they will find anything off the bridle once asked and would it be best to play safe and let them go and pop the final obstacle or go long and hope the horse responds accordingly.
Nobody is perfect but on the big day if I had a horse and could chose any jockey then R Walsh would always be my first port of call in much the same way as Richard Dunwoody was when he was riding, as I feel they were less likely to get it wrong when it really mattered.
Well this certainly open a can of worms, I have always enjoyed watching Ruby over the past twenty years, and I have to agree the weather and ground has played a big part in top horses that he has been sitting on maybe are actually on their last fatigue and not have as much as we think they have coming to the final fence. It was terrible on twitter when he fell on Annie Power last year, all the armchair boys and multiple bets when down the toilet, the bookies signed a relief, but you cannot blame Ruby for a lot of these mistakes. He is sublime jockey that I feel is still on top of his game.
I’d like to see stats to back some of these assumptions (i.e. that he has more last and second last fence falls than others). Another thing to bear in mind is that he is almost always in with a chance at the business end of a race so , by merely being involved competitively more often at that stage he is going to take more falls, numerically if not as a %.
He isn’t getting younger and time plus injuries do take their toll on every jockey but he is a master and along with Johnson and Geraghty we still have three of the greatest ever riding still.
I am surprised that you did not mention Davy Russell in that category, a jockey that does not get enough recognition in my opinion, when he comes to the Festival in March he is always a jockey I tend to follow what ever price the horse is, but back to Ruby he is a talent that needs to be recognised as probably one of the all time greats in a Saddle along with AP, Dunwoody and Scudamore. He is arrogant indeed, which in this sport or any sport is not a down point, if you know your the best then show it, he knows he makes mistakes, but he also knows his the best.
Darren P Goodbody
Many of the falls are when the horses are travelling too well, certainly Annie Power, they just seem to get close and momentum takes over. Whether its his fault or not is difficult to debate. There are three scenarios riding into a fence, the long stride, the short stride and the right stride and by the time you are flat out going to the last, statistically you will end up with the short stride on some occasions, which in Ruby’s case has tipped quite a few over. Perhaps all those very dodgy last jumps of Kauto Star’s were Ruby’s error, not the horses. One thing he does do is not interfere with how the horses jump, teaches the horse to jump in the most lovely rhythm, which makes them neat, economical and quick over their fences. I’d rather stack my lot with Ruby given the choice!
Thing that makes Ruby good at gettng horses jumping out in the country (allowing them to jump without much interference) might be playing against him when horses are tired and/or hear the roar of the crowd (distracted). At the final fence horses often need their minds made up for them. However, Ruby is still the best jockey riding imo.
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