Walsh suffers rare bad day
December 30, 2011 11:15:15 UK
Racing fans were left shaking their heads in puzzlement at Ruby Walsh’s tactics on the last day of the Leopardstown Christmas meeting.
Willie Mullins - having decided against allowing Champion hurdler Hurricane Fly to take his chance in Leopardstown's Istabraq Festival Hurdle - relied on his highly able stablemate Thousand Stars who has never finished more than six lengths behind the Mullins stable star.
Hurricane Fly is 1.66 to win the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, while Grandouet can be backed at 1000.00, Binocular at 5.50 and Overturn at 21.00.
However, the danger - if there was to be one - was the relatively unexposed Unaccompanied who is an out and out two miler with a reasonable turn of foot and a former Listed winner on the Flat.
Thus it was to be expected Walsh, on a horse who gets in excess of three miles, would make the running to test his rival's stamina to the limit.
That's how he won his last race at the distance so it was a shock to see Walsh anchor Thousand Stars at the back and, when finally making his move, found himself out-speeded by the winner, while making ground on him all the way to line.
What would have made things even more uncomfortable was that Mullins' other front line jockey Paul Towned was aboard the winner for Dermot Weld!
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At the Races presenter Matt Chapman immediately questioned Walsh's tactics declaring: "Given that he gets in excess of three miles, racing fans could be forgiven for questioning why he rode him that way."
Things got no better for the Irishman half-an-hour later when he again rooted a Mullins runner Sweet My Lord way out at the back and had far too much to do at the end of the three-mile Petemps Handicap Hurdle.
And there was more despair when Mullins' well-regarded Vesper Bell - with Walsh again on top - failed to quicken and was outstayed by Star Neuville in the penultimate race of the day.
A bad day at the office for Ruby, who finished the day without a winner and who has a rare day off today ahead of the weekend.
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