Walsh’s Kauto Star Decision

When you’re Ruby Walsh and the racing world is at your feet, with the absolute best horses to choose from, it would be easy to assume that choosing the potential Gold Cup winner would be a straight forward choice but Ruby is only human and right now he is hoping that he has made the right decision in sticking with Kauto Star as his ride in next month’s Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Speaking at the press conference to mark the launch of the Irish Racing Post in Dublin on Monday, Walsh said “Decision time for my Gold Cup ride came a bit sooner than I had hoped it would.

“I would have loved to have ridden Denman in the Aon Chase and to see how Nacarat (fourth behind Kauto Star in the King George VI Chase) gets on in the Racing Post Chase before having to make a choice between Kauto Star and Denman.

“It’s always easier to make decisions when you have all the available information in front of you, but I had to make a decision last week and having won two Gold Cups, four King Georges and a host of other good races on Kauto Star, in the heart and the head, I suppose I was always going to side with him.

“They are two exceptional horses and there is probably only a good jump between them. It is only my choice and I’ve made wrong choices in the past, but the Festival is still five weeks away and, like the horses, I have to get there in good shape. So I’m not going to get too worked up about the choice I’ve made, or other choices I will have to make, this far in advance.”

With Denman running this weekend it will be interesting to see how he does with AP McCoy on his back and only Friday 19th March will ultimately tell if Ruby made the right decision…

Don’t forget that all Cheltenham Gold Cup odds are available from Paddy Power Bookmakers.