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Tony McCoy is my favorite – has all the strengths needed to be a jockey. I never lay a horse not to win if he’s on board. Ruby Walsh is also top quality but makes a few more mistakes than Tony imo. Nothing too wrong about Mick Fitzgerald either or Timmy Murphy and Richard Johnson always gives his best………lots of excellent jockeys around at the moment & I wouldn’t be put off backing a horse if any of them were riding. ÂÂÂ
AP a mile ahead of the field,i remember seeing him when he first came over here and noticed that he gave 100% to everything he was on.I though that boy will go far.
Timmy is second,very different style that works well,love to see him on Hen’s horses.
Bunch finish for third,maybe Ruby just sneaks it.
Sorry to any 1 i offended by missing out certain jockeys it wasn’t done on purpose. I think Timmy Murphy, Barry Geraghty, Paul Carberry, etc are all top class jockeys but i doubt whether or not i included them would have changed who came out on top in the poll. Every 1 seems to like Ruby Walsh and Tony Mccoy the best
There is a complete obsession with jockeys in this sport! Any silly sod can ride a winner – the horse does the work. All this crap about so and so being better than someone else is tedious in the extreme. All that is required from a jockey is not to cock it up – and from McCoy and Walsh downwards they all sometimes do. The more rides they get the more mistakes they make pro rata!
Bear,
you can’t say that the jockey don’t matter. e.g Look at Ruby Walsh on Kauto Star a less experienced jockey wouldn’t stay on KS where as Walsh does
Danny,
I’ve been watching horse racing since the mid sixties and in that time I personally rate Ruby as the best NH jockey I have seen.
His great attribute is that he allows a horse to find it’s own stride approaching a fence whereas other jockeys insist on"organising" the horse. How often have you seen the likes of Johnson, Fitzgerald, McCoy "see" a stride early in a race, only for the horse to put in an extra stride and smash through the fence. I call this the "1, 2 ,3 oh sh it" manoeuvre. It always amuses me when this happens and the commentator congratulates the jockey on a remarkable recovery, when it was pilot error that inevitably caused the problem in the first place. I think this point is borne out by the fact that a loose horse jumping a fence very rarely takes off on the wrong stride and falls.
When a horse is tired the technique required changes but I am sure you know what I am getting at.
The fact that Ruby has stayed in the plate owes a lot to his natural horsemanship and superb balance, but even more to the fact that the horse kept a straight line. Much as I admire Ruby, if Kauto Star makes a howler and jinks to the left or right in order to stay upright, odds are that Ruby will be thrown to the ground. That said, Kauto Star has fired my imagine like no other – I fell for him in the pre-parade ring at Aintree earlier this season. It was p**s
ing down and I walked alongside him to the main parade ring, and I promise you the horse has an aura about him. Trust me when it comes to racing I am as far from sentimental as you can get, but I believe this horse might possibly go down in history as a great – the fact that he steamrollers one occasionally just adds to the excitement!I backed the horse for the Gold Cup when I got home from Aintree that day, and if he gets to Cheltenham in one piece and goes off around the 2’s mark I am contemplating an "all bills paid bet" as I think he is capable of routing the opposition.
Bear<br>only for the horse to put in an extra stride and smash through the fence. I call this the "1, 2 ,3 oh sh it" manoeuvre.
Genius :biggrin: Made me laugh!
NH rider to ride for my life would be McCoy- must admire his will to win and professionalism though it isn’t always pretty.<br>Best rider to watch is TJ Murphy. The maxim is that the top riders ride the best horses and make fewest mistakes. However Murphy’s ability was demonstrated by the way he rehabiltated himself riding freelance in Eire and the UK on a range of horses of differing ability after being sacked by Nicholls after his jailing (yes I know he had Beef or Salmon to assist his profile ).
Bear – One moment you state that any silly sod can ride a winner and talk of which jockey is better is tedious in the extreme.
The next moment you write an essay going on about how Ruby Walsh is the best NH jockey and what a difference he makes!
Which is it?
Shocking that Murphy, Carberry, & Choc Thornton are not on the list although McCoy or Walsh would have won anyway.
Davy Russell is an excellent horseman who is very underrated IMO.
Timmy Murphy…is a fantastic horseman, not just a jockey!
since he got rid of his demons, he is different class…..
Swallow Cottage,
Danny specifically referred to Kauto Star and Ruby Walsh so I felt inspired to spend 10 minutes spouting my opinion – it’s not gospel, just my opinion. I happen to think that Ruby is the best rider I have ever seen but there is a certain amount of luck involved when it comes to being unseated or not and he is not immune from that.
However I maintain that silly sods can and do win horse races every single day and that the fawning adulation of certain jockeys by the racing press and public is not warranted, and that includes the accolades given to my particular favourite.
Regards
Davy Russell is tactically naiive. Gives too many horses far too much to do imo. Witness Dun Doire just before Christmas as one example.
Quote: from bear on 11:41 pm on Feb. 20, 2007[br]Swallow Cottage,
Danny specifically referred to Kauto Star and Ruby Walsh so I felt inspired to spend 10 minutes spouting my opinion – it’s not gospel, just my opinion. I happen to think that Ruby is the best rider I have ever seen but there is a certain amount of luck involved when it comes to being unseated or not and he is not immune from that.
However I maintain that silly sods can and do win horse races every single day and that the fawning adulation of certain jockeys by the racing press and public is not warranted, and that includes the accolades given to my particular favourite.
Regards<br>
Bear,
You never change I have to say that, you probably do have a good insight into the game, and yes you are entitled to your opinion. But the fact that you have never sat on a race horse when jumping an obstacle, does not entitle such a sweeping statement: –
"there is a certain amount of luck involved when it comes to being unseated or not and he is not immune from that. "
As for the comment about silly sods and fawning adulation! There is no doubt that it actually does take some talent to be a top rider and a hell of a lot of dedication and sacrifice. So if jockeys receive plaudits when they are successful, they deserve them IMO, like in any other walk of life.
One thing I do know is that any silly sod can sit at home on the Internet and post rubbish…..
JohnJ
Quote: from bear on 6:13 pm on Feb. 20, 2007[br]Danny,
I’ve been watching horse racing since the mid sixties and in that time I personally rate Ruby as the best NH jockey I have seen.
His great attribute is that he allows a horse to find it’s own stride approaching a fence whereas other jockeys insist on"organising" the horse. How often have you seen the likes of Johnson, Fitzgerald, McCoy "see" a stride early in a race, only for the horse to put in an extra stride and smash through the fence. I call this the "1, 2 ,3 oh sh it" manoeuvre. It always amuses me when this happens and the commentator congratulates the jockey on a remarkable recovery, when it was pilot error that inevitably caused the problem in the first place. I think this point is borne out by the fact that a loose horse jumping a fence very rarely takes off on the wrong stride and falls.
When a horse is tired the technique required changes but I am sure you know what I am getting at.
The fact that Ruby has stayed in the plate owes a lot to his natural horsemanship and superb balance, but even more to the fact that the horse kept a straight line. Much as I admire Ruby, if Kauto Star makes a howler and jinks to the left or right in order to stay upright, odds are that Ruby will be thrown to the ground. That said, Kauto Star has fired my imagine like no other – I fell for him in the pre-parade ring at Aintree earlier this season. It was p**s<br>ing down and I walked alongside him to the main parade ring, and I promise you the horse has an aura about him. Trust me when it comes to racing I am as far from sentimental as you can get, but I believe this horse might possibly go down in history as a great – the fact that he steamrollers one occasionally just adds to the excitement!
I backed the horse for the Gold Cup when I got home from Aintree that day, and if he gets to Cheltenham in one piece and goes off around the 2’s mark I am contemplating an "all bills paid bet" as I think he is capable of routing the opposition.<br>
Theres a school of thought going about like this that good jockeys dont interfere with horses but this is a school of thought that is strongest among those who have never ridden one.
Its true that there are alot of good jumpers out there can easily figure things out for themselves but alot of horses can be very poor due to lack of concentration, poor confidence or just plain brainlessness benefit greatly from a great jockey like McCoy. A very good example of this would be his steering of the very leggy gold cup winner Mr Mulligan on his big day.
More extreme examples can be found in showjumping where the angles and distances between obstacles is the real issue that can only be negotiated with the help of the rider.
Bear in mind that a jockey cant win no matter what he does when his horse is striding clear to the last fence. If he forces it ….if he doesnt….when a horse falls in these circumstances, then he has taken the wrong choice.
As a rule of thumb, bad jockeys cant see strides and ask horses to jump at times when they should be letting them alone but bad jockeys also do the opposite and are of little benefit to a horse who might need some help.
SHL
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