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RUGBY fan Willie Mullins compared Ruby Walsh to Johnny Sexton in the way he makes crucial calls during races ‘that 99 out of 100 fellas will be afraid to make’.
‘Ruby has the confidence to take that drop kick, for want of a better word, in the final minute of the game. He is huge to us,’ said Mullins after a canny double for Walsh on Footpad and Benie Des Dieux at Cheltenham yesterday.
Walsh was Cool Hand Luke on Footpad in the Arkle Trophy where he refused to allow a huge mistake by the 5-6 favourite deflect him.
Instead, he played cat and mouse with the front-running Petit Mouchoir and duly reeled him in.
‘Sure, it’s all a game of poker. When you make a plan, you stick to it because changing at halfway, you’re definitely wrong,’ said Walsh.
Success for Patrick Mullins on Rathvinden in the National Hunt Chase completed a first day 54-1 treble for Mullins.
The glory came at a cost as Walsh shipped a six-day ban for excessive use of the whip on Benie Des Dieux while Mullins was hit by a six-day ban for a similar offence.
Barry Geraghty was at his best to bag a third Champion Hurdle as Buveur D’air edged out Mullins runner Melon.
But Gordon Elliott drew a first-day blank and will be desperate for banker Samcro to deliver in today’s Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle.
While Elliott’s Mick Jazz was a fair Champion Hurdle third, Mossback suffered a fatal injury in the National Hunt Chase.