Ruby Out

I wonder is he having second thoughts about the game at this stage in his life. It must be so deflating to be getting constantly injured and seriously injured at that. The man has won plenty and has a young family to look after now too. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he called it a day which would be to the detriment of racing as he's the best NH jock we've seen IMO.
 
As long as Willie Mullins has a pulse Ruby will ride, think Nicholls best days were with the big 3 horses
 
There is such a thing as re-training, Steve! He would probably segue easily into his Dad's shoes if he wanted, become a bloodstock agent/consignor, or join the lengthening list of ex-jockeys presenting on Irish and British tv. He's missing his spleen, he's had numerous bad fractures which will probably translate into early arthritis and long-term pain - there's probably little financial reason for him to go on. He could consider buying an inn in Barbados, like Dazzler's, or buying property to rent and live off the income - he's a very young man still and there are many, many options open to a bright one like him.
 
Are jockeys like Walsh ans Fehily just really unlucky, or are they more susceptible to suffering lasting damage from falls? Is it a coincidence that they keep suffering worse injuries than most of their colleagues.
 
I wouldn't assume it about a helluva lot of them, though, Steve! Some are far from articulate and really have no screen presence or 'personality', unlike the better ones drawn from track life. He could be groomed to present, I'm sure, as his experience (through his Dad's career) extends beyond just riding, and he's struck me as being a smart fellow mentally. I imagine he's got some serious dollars behind him by now, so why not branch out? He could open a bar, a restaurant, teach NH race-riding, and presumably train NH horses if he wanted to stay in the game.
 
The list of injuries can't be the full job - there have to surely been busted fingers, a nose done a couple of time, and perhaps a couple of teeth knocked out? Carl Llewellyn is said to have had his nose broken something like nine times - I don't know if he specialised particularly in face-first dives into the turf, but those went alongside a horrendous category of other snaps, crackles, and pops.
 
Aragorn said:
No way will Walsh be retiring. Men as driven as him don;t give up that easy.
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As driven as him?

He's so driven he can't be bothered taking rides on horses outside Nicholls yard when at a UK meeting. So driven you will never see him on an outsider.

There is hardly a less driven jockey in the UK. He rides when he thinks he can win, that's it.
 
Why does he have to race in shit races to prove he is driven to win at the top level?

I think somebody:
* rushing back from a fractured wrist after just a couple of weeks to ride Florida Pearl (2000) at Down Royal.
* trying and failing to come back from a removed spleen to ride Kauto Star after two weeks, but still making it back on the track within four weeks (2008)
* coming back to ride two weeks earlier than doctors advised earlier this year after his double leg break at Down Royal.

is clearly driven.

He is clearly driven to put himself and his health in danger to ride in big races.

He doesn't ride shit horses nearly as often as McCoy. He seems driven enough to me, though.
 
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I don't like Ruby as a person but he is an unbelieveable jockey and a good pundit.I have seen him ride plenty of rubbish outsiders at Irish meetings.I'd have no doubts that he is driven -but his drive revolves around the big days.
 
I also agree with most of Luke's (i.e. Nick) points. But, you are not driven if your drive revolves primarily around big days and big races. That's not really even a point of debate.
 
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You can't be driven if you are only driven for big races. That, for me, is a simple point, surely?
 
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