Best jockey at the moment?

Barry looks top notch on very good horses. Ruby is still the best for me and greatest ever.

Davy has improved a lot in the past few years also and is a most improver.

Davy has always been top class, it's just he is sitting on top much better horses now

ive followed ruby since he was 18..i remember he broke his leg somewhere (i think it was czechoslovakia)he was out for a while i remember him riding and followed him since then, he is the best horseman ive seen ..i can say with out doubt atm he is the best with barry and davy russell close..but imo this kid townend is better than ruby was at his age and once he has the mullins job fulltime no one will be champion only him..
there are afew good kids in ireland who are coming threw..but co,s of the ammo mullins has townend will have the advantage..but his raw talant stands out to me..anyone agree?

Everyone looks good against SWC. I know he had some nice horses running at Ascot today, but I was surprised Nicky Henderson was not at Haydock for Long Run's first run of the season. Has the stable had enough of the Waley-Cohen's?

Forgot Paul Townend...heir apparant

1. AP McCoy (Best Ever. End of story)
2. Barry Geraghty (Had to suffer being second jockey to Carberry but has established himself to be an outstanding jockey)   
3. Paul Townend  (A King in waiting)
4. Paul Carberry ( Brilliant Stylist)
5. Rupert Walsh. ( A fine jockey who got to where he is today through patronism).

ruby best ever.no doubt

Ruby is different class.

richard dunwoody now theres a class jockey.
and of the gotchees top 5 all have agreed that carberry is the best.

Anybody suggesting Walsh is a better jockey than Mccoy is wrong.

Could Mccoy win on Nicholls and Mullins' good things - ofcourse he could.

Could Walsh win on the rags that Mccoy drags over the line - Could he hell.

Come on, Mc Coy is the best ever. Ruby is a great jockey but not in same way as Mc Coy as Mr Eboue alluded to.

Gotchee Ruby two Aintree nationals by the time he was 25. As far as I can remenber he has never fallen in the National and only failed to complete once when he pulled up his mount after being badly baulked twice. Daddy doesnt ride around after you in the national you know.

Surely Carberry only still has a top job through Patronism of his very extended and powerful family after all his mishaps throughout the years.

I don't understand this argument that McCoy could win on all these top class horses that Ruby rides, there is no evidence to suggest he could and in fact the evidence of Denman, Master Minded and Kauto Star three of the best horses in a the last 10 years suggest that in fact he cannot!

AP for me.

If I was a horse I wouldn't want AP anywhere near me.  (but then again I am a class horse and wouldn't be trying to get up in poor handicaps midweek )

Ruby is different class.

Ruby over McCoy without a shadow of a doubt.
McCoy's winners total skews the argument -but so many of them were odds-on steering jobs for M C Pipe.
For me Timmy Murphy is the best and the man I would want up especially if I had a novice  or  long-distance chaser.

The horses are different class and if Ruby is riding one I'm sure he looks good, in his oh so cool style, yet they dump him on regular basis.

put the top 10 jocks on the same horse and race them against each other and Ruby would win imo.


Best ever.

the gotchee putting paul townend ahead of Ruby?


u honestly think that?

Maybe ilwab but prove it?, horses usually determine everybodies faith in horse racing, sh!t horse usually make sh1t jockeys and trainers

silver i agree, good horses certainly make it easier for jocks but with Rubys wealth of experience and big wins time and again, i really don't see how townend can be deemed a better jockey than Ruby. Fair enough Barry and AP but Paul?

hes basically a young version of Ruby. Ruby easier a better judge of pace however. Paul is  fine jock but i believe its clear hes not yet at Rubys level.

Everyone entitled to their opinion I suppose.

I suppose?

Anyone saying Ruby Walsh is the "best ever" should take into account he has been riding the best horses for the top 2 stables both here and in England . Good horses makes riders look good. McCoys career has gone downhill since he got tied up with the Jonjo/JP outfit. Barry Geraghty got a new lease of life with the Henderson job.
I think it is a pointless exercise comparing riders from different era's but the next top rider in Ireland will be Bryan Cooper who is improving all the time and doesn't tip his cap to the older lads - just see him go up the inside of Ruby Walsh on Lyreen Legend last Sunday at Punchestown.

Agree santry very good point you make about Geraghty, he was hero to zero when the good rides dried up, and then the Henderson job catapulted him back to gods gift land.

Hypothetical remove Ruby from the Nichols and Mullins job and stick him in say the job of Mouse Morris first jockey, and he'll still be riding decent enough horses but he won't be making the headlines left right and centre like he does with those 2 powerful stables. When Ruby was out injured for months I don't think the Mullins stable ever looked like collapsing in on itself, in fact Townend was riding winners at an average even Ruby would be proud of, hard as it is to grasp for many in horse racing, the ability of the horse is tantamount, sorry to say guys I know you pine for human heroes but this is horse racing not Man Utd and your heroes are and always were and will be the horse!.

In fact it's the humans who screw you over not the horse, because unfortunately the poor thing can't talk if he could????, lock them all up and throw away the key!.

Silvergreaser..........lock them all up and throw away the key.....we know the pain and suffering that gambling has caused in Newbridge but that's a wee bit over the top.

More to the top jockeys than just watching them at race meetings. Punters rarely see behind the scenes.These top boys can spot something at the drop of a hat be it schooling or galloping. It's like going to shelbourne park on a saturday night, good dogs, decent crowd, party atmosphere and behind the scenes the don't have enough dogs in the pool to continue.

All looks good when everyone is dressed up but the graft goes on elsewhere.The cream always rises to the top but a good person is needed to guide it........Alex Ferguson aint too bad at keeping his well paid lads in check.

gant i thought of you as i drove through ballymahon last night for some reason....where  do you think it all went wrong for greyhound racing , i'd be interested to hear your views...

Ruby the best, with Stan Mellor a good second in the all time chart. imho

How many horses has McCoy won on, to all intents and purposes, look to be beaten. He does it almost on a daily basis.

Gant just for pig iron, Michael Shumacher came out of retirement and we barely even heard his name mentioned, why? because he was not driving the fastest car anymore.

Right time right place usually decides your faith, of course Ruby is a fantastic horse man but he can't make a slow horse run fast, why do you think apprentice jockeys win tonnes of races is it because they're better than the pro's? or is because they were probably riding the fastest horse?.

Workrider. My dad and myself always had a couple of dogs out of our back garden in the 70's/80's,like a huge amount of other lads throughout the the country. Where I think the game started to take a downturn was the emergence of the Paul Hennessey style mass production of dogs .This was taken up by others and encouraged by the powers that be with the small man sidelined. I dont even go to the dogs any more-to much drink and drunks to be seen. No soul in the game anymore.

Workrider........Plain and simple in my opinion the downturn in the economy. The loss of the leisure euro. Lads that would have a leg here and there have to put food on the table.
Breeders have cut down because of less demand and this shortage will really hit the fan mid 2013. 4 and 5 dog races in the UK at the moment.One track in Ireland has only 50 dogs in the pool.
No sport is recession proof and some day soon we might see a race with all the runners owned by gigginstown.

i find myself agreeing with you santry , i bred a few myself , trained them as well , i also had a few with other trainers , tina mcgrane martain lanney jim giffiths ger duffin etc etc....remember been asked to bring one to newbridge, i was told it would have a great chance and would be put in handy , it was all grass racing then in newbridge..my dogs best run was 29.44 ...matt o'donnell had a runner in it this night ...needless to say his dog won the race in 29.19.......talked about getting taken to the cleaners ..off to navan santry , talk later....

No sport is recession proof and some day soon we might see a race with all the runners owned by gigginstown.                        love it gant ,

Silvergreaser.....but when he was in the fastest car he dominated the sport for years. Ruby can come in after riding your horse and tell you more about it in 60 seconds than a lesser jockey. The good apprentice generally will make a good pro if he takes care of himself....we all know of the talented lads who go on the sauce and don't turn up for work.......we have a local pub full of them and they hate Ruby, Barry, PC etc.........oh only for the drink.

Workrider.......I brought a little bitch of mine to Newbridge one night and beat Hennessy, Black and Seamus Graham she did 28.65.
Paul Hennessy is a gentleman but his wife would know more about a greyhound, a good meath woman.

Santry...I know where you are coming from. In the boom the numbers trainers got favoured by racing managers and the small man was squeezed.......still a great game and it will rise again.......Dogs are just getting faster and faster.

Workrider.......Tina and Martin are 2 nice people. I don't know the other lads.

Gant jockeys are not always right, in fact some say the worst tipster is a jockey.

I'm sure I can drive a car better than most women but if the woman is driving the faster car, she'll win virtually everytime, it might sound simplistic but it's the truth, pine for your heroes all you want, I'll enjoy the sport for what it is, "HORSE" racing, and the horse will always be my hero, not some overrated human who does the impossible job of getting a horse fit (how hard is that?) or point it in the direction of the winning post and get from a to b and if he's riding the best horse he'll probably win, or riding a mule good chance he'll be tailed off?.

Only if it was all that simple.

Agreed Gant007..........

This is a pretty good tread, but its a pity, imho, that a tread wasn't started to deal exclusively with the downturn in greyhound sport.It would be very interesting to read and see peoples opinions on, (A) why the game is where its at, and (B), how can it be resurrected.
I dont believe for a minute that you can blame PH the best trainer in the country for its ills. That's a bit Irish, but we do like to attack our own......................

Some of you forget why Ruby gets the good rides and had ridden loads of winners before he ever rode for PN. PN and WM the two top trainers know who the best jockey is.

Currently I'd go,

1,Ruby Walsh,without doubt the finest exponent of NH riding that has ever thrown a leg over a horse.

2,BJ Geraghty. Top Clas rider.

3,AP Mc Coy for shear doggedness and work rate but lacks the horsemanship of the pair above him.

4,5 Can't split Paul Townend & Brian Cooper who have the potential to reach the pinnacle of their game.

Andrew Lynch deserves a mention on this thread imo.
A fine jockey who keeps things simple

Ruby may ride for the top two stables now but they weren't the top stables when he started riding for them. How much Ruby has has to do with the development of Nicholls and Mullins is arguable but I'd suggest he has played a key role.

Cooper is another very good shout Punchestown.

Very stylish for a young lad

Malibu.......you hit the nail on the head.
Andy Lynch is a fine rider and has a great gig with a very powerful owner.

jaytrump.......start a thread and you will get a fair bit of interest in the subject.

silvergreaser
25 Nov 12 02:50
Joined:
11 Feb 10
| Topic/replies: 4,110 | Blogger: silvergreaser's blog
I suppose?



?

be honest guys how much of a difference does a jockey do?, I'm sure Ruby is better than most but a bad jockey will win regardless if the horse is good enough?

or not?

I hate the persecution of jockeys just like I hate the way posters are always looking to blame jockeys but the first thing I look at when backing a horse is the rider.In all fields of human endeavour there are degrees of excellence and just because you see a jockey of the brilliance of Ruby Walsh doesn't mean you have to slag off the lesser lights.

Persecution, who's persecuting wildman?

Mainly stewards,if a jockey makes a mistake not alone has he to run the gauntlet of punters,explain himself to the trainer and then the owner but he then gets treated like dirt by stewards and picks up some outrageous ban,they are blamed for everything looked at the names they are called on this and the racing forum.Some of the bans dished out are ludicrous,jockey banned for being dehydrated,banned for being loaded in wrong stall even though error corrected in seconds,banned for misuse of whip when the alleged culprit had no whip,apprentices being bullied and picked on banned for an injudicious ride when all right thinking people would agree tis because they are learning is the reason for the poor rides.

Wildman I'm in your street, the jockey always takes the rap for the real guilty party the guy that gives him. his orders, you know that guy, yeah that fine upstanding trainer, yeah the one the sun shines right out of his behind.

Have a look at the ride Mark Walsh gave Carlingford Lough yesterday I have no doubt he was following the owners instructions,why else would he do it.Now if you have some time watch Clashnabrooks race at Tramore and compare it to his effort at Gowran yesterday,I shouldn't complain because I backed him but he is an old favourite on here.

silvergreaser
25 Nov 12 20:35
Joined:
11 Feb 10
| Topic/replies: 4,114 | Blogger: silvergreaser's blog
be honest guys how much of a difference does a jockey do?, I'm sure Ruby is better than most but a bad jockey will win regardless if the horse is good enough?



agree.

pricewise seems to think its VERY important, was surprised to hear that. I mean I am happy to see a 'top jock' onboard one i like but its not THAT important.

Silver,Watch the Betfair Chase and how Sam Waley Cohen presents his horse at a fence,Then watch how Ruby does it,Are u seriously telling me one isn't better than the other?

cheltenhamroar of course Ruby is better than Sam, but Sam still won a King George and a Gold Cup on Long Run its a prime example how important the ability of the horse really is, bad horses make bad jockeys as they do bad trainers.

We're very quick to praise the jockey after a horse wins, but what did the jockey really contribute?.

Jockey error causes falls.  How often do you see a loose horse fall?

They're spitting feathers over on the main forum over McCoy's ride on Snake Eyes