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Ruby Walsh Q and A: Cheltenham Festival 2025 review

Last Updated: Wed 19 Mar 2025

Ruby Walsh answers a number of questions as he analyses the 2025

Festival on this week's edition of Paddy Power Media’s ‘From The Horse’s Mouth’ podcast. Watch the full show on Paddy Power's YouTube page.

For Team Closutton – 10 winners, an incredible number. But a few big guns disappointed. Could it have been more, Ruby?

Oh sure it could obviously, but then that’s just sport. I mean 10 winners is an incredible number to have, maybe not some of the results wanted, but still an unbelievable week.

Is it possible to have the 10 but have a faller at the last in the Champion Hurdle and Galopin going for three Gold Cups and be disappointed?

Willie is lucky in that he has age on his side in that sense. He’s been around the block and he’ll know not how lucky because he hasn’t just gotten lucky, there’s skill to it too, but he would appreciate what happened last week.

He’ll know the ups and downs and the ins and outs. People will say ‘ah you can’t be saying that’ but you can. He’ll know that he could have went to Cheltenham and a lot more go wrong so he’ll be delighted with 10 winners.

Does Paul Townend walk away from Cheltenham thinking good week, but left a little bit on the table?

Probably does but that’s probably the pressure of expectation too. You’re Paul Townend going to Cheltenham – he’s a realist as well, you’re looking at it and to ride four winners at Cheltenham is a good haul whatever way you look at it.

State Man fell, Galopin Des Champs probably the pressure of expectation, but he’ll have more than likely have sat, well Jack hasn’t been riding, but would have sat down and looked across the weighing room at Jack Kennedy last week and thought ‘you know what, I’m having a good week’.

Paul was so magnaminous when he came in off Galopin Des Champs?

I thought his initial reaction – straightaway when he went by the line how he put his arm around Mark Walsh and shook his hand. Paul has age on his age side too, but you can’t fake being a good sportsman, I’m not going to say a good loser because losing doesn’t suit any sports person.

But he is a really good sports person and I thought his initial reaction to Mark Walsh, I thought that was good to see in sport.

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle - Kopek Des Bordes was very impressive – is he a Champion Hurdler for next season?

I don’t know – he doesn’t strike me as a horse that you’d love to head to a fence on just yet. So yes he could be – I thought he was good, I thought he could be better.

Was he green when he hit the front in the Supreme?

Shot his way through the last hurdle and did well to gain his momentum. But still a work in progress, but look I’d say an extremely exciting horse to own, but a work in progress.

Arkle Chase – Majborough – the key to steeplechasing is that you have to steeplechase?

Usually and Majborough didn’t do that. D’you know what I think Majborough looked like a two and a half miler.

When he got away from the stands I thought early in the race it looked like he was going as fast as he could. He then got in control of the race away from the stands but when they pressed him down the back, his jumping just started to go and eventually went.

I wonder would he be a better horse going a little bit further? He’s only a five-year-old, he’s a Triumph winner – I think he’s going to be a stayer and I think it’ll be up in trip he’ll go.

I think when he learns to settle going half a mile an hour or better slower will actually help his jumping. He wasn’t really using himself, he was guessing.

Would

Lossiemouth

have won the Champion Hurdle?

If you drop her in as State Man falls, yes she wins, but she wouldn’t have beaten State Man at home working last week. Could you see

Constitution

Hill falling, could you see Brighterdaysahead running the way she ran? No.

Fact To File in the Ryanair?

I thought he was brilliant - I thought of an equine performance of the week, it was probably him. I thought the race set up for him. I had tipped Jungle Boogie each-way and when I saw him lining up in front I was thinking ‘oh no’.

I thought he would be dropping in and coming from behind, reading the tactics of it completely wrong. He went forward, he ran stink, but it made for an end to end race. Il Est Francais got in charge away from the stands, but I just thought Fact To File had looked so much happier at that speed.

Going a couple of miles an hour faster, his jumping, you watch him over three miles and they’re trying to hold him and settle him and he’s wanting to go and he’s grabbing. He doesn’t look a comfortable watch whereas I thought at this speed, he looked such a comfortable watch.

Turning off the bend, I thought he looked an aeroplane.

Does he farm this race for a few years now?

Listening to Willie afterwards, Willie was adamant he was still a Gold Cup horse, but I’d imagine positive tactics suit him and whether he gets a Gold Cup trip then being ridden handily or not, who knows?

But listening to Willie afterwards, he still maintained he was a Gold Cup horse.

Galopin Des Champs in the Gold Cup?

It’s much easier to the eye to pick it out when he’s amongst horses. But even to me when they jumped to go and you knew Paul wanted to be handy on him and by the time they got to the first fence, he was midfield.

Got in really close to the first fence and cleared it but no bounce or acceleration or whatever and from the word go, you’re looking at him and I know I was probably looking at it from a Closutton point of view, you’re looking and thinking ‘he’s not going, who is?’ and straightaway Inothewayurthinkin stuck out like a sore thumb.

He was travelling so well that from that from very early you’re thinking ‘like he is the danger’ and you got that brief glimmer of hope at the top of the hill, fourth last Paul gets there and Galopin looks like he’s moving and Mark Walsh comes off it, but it lasted about two and a half seconds before Mark Walsh was back on the bridle and Galopin looked flat out.

But look the winner was brilliant on the day and I thought he got a fabulous ride, jumped really well and look who knows where the ceiling is with him?

Does Inothewayurthinkin have Galopin’s measure now or do you try him back on softer ground at Leopardstown and see how you go?

We always say there’s no white flag in Closutton so we’re not going to wave it just yet.

A Lucky 15 for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival? (answer in conjunction with Rory Delargy (RD) with Ruby (RW) getting a bit overexcited and providing too many horses!)

Rocky’s Diamond for the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (RD), Jonbon in the Queen Mother Champion Chase (RD), Romeo Coolio in the Arkle (RW) and Majborough in the Ryanair Chase (RW), Fact To File in the Queen Mother Champion Chase (RW) and Inothewayurthinkin in the Cheltenham Gold Cup (RW).

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