Ted Walsh: 'I've seen jockeys die - I just hoped I'd never see Ruby like that'
David Jennings catches up with one of the most recognisable voices in racing
The latest episode of TED talks comes to you from a cosy sitting room in County Kildare, just off the M7 motorway on the outskirts of Kill village.
"You know what drives me absolutely bananas? When I see lads fist-bumping each other. This idea of putting your fist against another fella's fist is just nonsense. I'd rather a fella kick me. And the same goes for touching elbows. That is vomit, absolute vomit. I feel like puking when I see that. If you can't shake hands with someone or throw your arms around them, just forget about it."
And we're off. The raw, unshackled authenticity that makes Ted Walsh one of the most compelling pundits racing has ever produced has not been refined by any pandemic. Nor has age wrinkled him. He looks as fresh at 70 as he did at 50. His eyes still jiving; his tongue continuing to do cartwheels.
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Published on 14 November 2020inInterviews
Last updated 13:18, 14 November 2020
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- 'There was a moment of rage - but he's a magnificent horse and it suits me that he's passed under the radar'
- When Patrick Mullins met Jack Kennedy: 'You could say I've been lucky - they're just broken bones and they heal'
- Richard Hannon: 'When you're dead and buried the only things you're remembered by are your Classic winners'
- Paul Carberry: 'I jumped up on to the rafters. It tended to be all very strait-laced in those days, but I changed that'
- 'All of us who ply our trade training horses are dreamers - to put so much into it you must have a dream'
- 'There was a moment of rage - but he's a magnificent horse and it suits me that he's passed under the radar'
- When Patrick Mullins met Jack Kennedy: 'You could say I've been lucky - they're just broken bones and they heal'
- Richard Hannon: 'When you're dead and buried the only things you're remembered by are your Classic winners'
- Paul Carberry: 'I jumped up on to the rafters. It tended to be all very strait-laced in those days, but I changed that'