Ruby hoping Tudor can conquer at Down royal
Jockey Ruby Walsh is heading to Down Royal this evening in a bid to add to his winner haul
Fresh from partnering odds-on favourite Whiteout to a hard-earned success at Bellewstown last night, Ruby Walsh heads to Down Royal this evening in a bid to add to his winner haul, writes Thomas Kelly
The champion jockey - who had to dig deep to get the Willie Mullins-trained mare (2/5) home ahead of Miss Dinamic - has three booked rides at the venue.
Walsh first gets the leg-up on Tudor City for Tony Martin in the opening juvenile hurdle and while this one is making his debut over flights, the form of his recent Flat win at Galway gives him a squeak taking on the experienced pair of Persiflage and Lake Champlain.
In the featured Kerry Foods Hurdle, the record-breaking Kildare rider goes up against Martin's two runners - Pires and Cassells Rock - as he takes the mount on Dai Bando for Ross O'Sullivan.
Pires, the mount of Shane Shortall, ran well when sixth over fences at Ballybrit, but the veteran hasn't visited the winner's enclosure since his success of 12 months ago and Dai Bando gets the vote on the basis of having plenty scope for improvement.
Walsh again teams up with Martin aboard Blackwater Bridge in the two-mile handicap hurdle. This five-year-old will have to show considerable improvement on previous form to figure and the vote goes to Mossy Island.
Sabrina Harty's charge made it 12th-time lucky at Ballinrobe recently and despite having to contend with a 4lb rise, Andrew Lynch's mount is preferred to Peter Casey's Carlyan.
