Ruby Walsh Sprints Clear on Sanctuaire
Ruby Walsh became the winning-most horse racing jockey in the history of the Cheltenham Festival when Sanctuaire sprinted clear to win the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle.
Walsh had his mount in midfield in the early stages, but the well-backed 4-1 favourite moved through the field with ease and was on the tails of the leaders rounding the final turn.
Notus De La Tour nipped up the inside to take up the running before Walsh joined him at the last, after which he streaked away to score by nine lengths.
Walsh was moving on to 26 Festival winners, one more than the previous best set by Pat Taaffe, rider of the legendary Arkle.
The jockey said: “He’s a bit free, so we thought the Fred Winter could be a good race in which to get him to settle. I did think the mark they gave him after his Taunton win was a great one.”
Winning trainer Paul Nicholls added: “We had some problems with him when he first came over (from France) and at first we couldn’t get him on to the gallop.
“But he clearly has a lot of ability and he’ll be even more the finished product after a summer out. He can’t run in a handicap again, so I’ll probably run him in the juvenile hurdle at Aintree.”