Ruby Walsh Turns To The Flat At Naas On Sunday

Star of the jumps Ruby Walsh is set to ditch the hurdles and fences for one day when he rides at Naas in a six furlong sprint contest for his father Ted Walsh.

He rides Castletownshend in the Kildare Post & Kildare Now Maiden over six furlongs where there are 20 runners set to go to post in what looks like a minefield of a sprint contest.

Walsh rides this top weighted four year old at 10 stone 4 pounds for his father Ted Walsh and looks to have an outside chance in what is a really strange jockey booking.

Ruby Walsh is one of the best proven national hunt jockeys in the business and has been for some time winning most of the biggest races in the sport like the Gold Cup, Grand National and the King George VI to name a few but racing on the flat is a completely different story.

This season the jockey has been racing all through the winter, luckily this season not picking up an injury, and been in the weighing room alongside Paul Townend, Barry Geraghty and Jack Kennedy but he will share it on Sunday with Ryan Moore, Colin Keane and Colm O'Donoghue.

One of the best flat jockeys in the world is Ryan Moore and he again this year is the number one retained rider for the ever successful Aidan O'Brien and they team up together in this race with Empire State who has been consistent in his career not being out the top three in all but one of his runs to date.

Trainer John Oxx runs his first runner of the season since joining up with Patrick Prendergast and Ho Ho Bird could be set to get them off to a winning start.

This is not the first time that Walsh will be riding on the flat but for the time it comes in the season, it is just a very strange occurrence in horse racing and it would be a great story if he could go on to win.