Ruby: The Autobiography

Ruby Walsh is a phenomenon. The only jockey to have won all four of the home Grand Nationals, Ruby's racing life is the stuff of dreams. A charming, much-loved sports personality throughout Ireland and Great Britain, Ruby writes in detail for the first time about a career of remarkable success. The narrative moves at an impressive pace from his sport-enthused youth in County Kildare, where he showed enormous talent from an early age, to his incredible Grand National win at Aintree on Papillion in 2000 (at the age of twenty). It was Ruby's first attempt, on a horse trained by his father, and achieved just after suffering the first really serious injury of his career. He has ridden over 1,400 winners to date, including more than a thousand Irish victories and the Irish jump jockey's title on seven occasions. Among numerous racing triumphs, Ruby rode a record-breaking seven winners over four days at the 2009 Cheltenham Festival. Ruby Walsh talks candidly and openly about the three key working relationships in his life - with Paul Nicholls, Willie Mullins and his father, the legendary Ted Walsh - as well as laying bare the dynamic relationship that exists between him and jockey Tony McCoy - both great friends and professional rivals. With his intimate knowledge of the two greatest horses of our time, Ruby also provides valuable insight into what it is to ride and (sometimes choose between) Kauto Star and Denman. Ruby's fantastic story will attract a large spectrum of readers, from those who have only a passing interest in the sport to those who follow all his races. It is a searingly honest and compelling autobiography, charting the rise and rise of an immensely talented and popular force in the world of sport.