Walsh wore the famous green and gold as the Willie Mullins-trained Jalila Moriviere won the Listed Canella Lane Handicap Chase at Killarney on Saturday
Mark Walsh and JP McManus (Image: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy )
Mark Walsh has carried the JP McManus silks to victory for the first time since losing his position as the owner’s retained rider.
Walsh wore the famous green and gold as the Willie Mullins-trained Jalila Moriviere won the Listed Canella Lane Handicap Chase at Killarney on Saturday.
The 40-year-old jockey was appointed McManus’ retained rider in 2020, but in a shock to many, it was announced in January this year that English jockey Harry Cobden would become McManus’ new number one from May.
Since taking over the role, Cobden has been a regular visitor to these shores. But instead of travelling to Killarney on Saturday, he rode for McManus at Newton Abbot in England, partnering 13/2 shot Mojito Des Mottes to victory.
In Cobden’s absence, Walsh was given the leg up on Jalila Moriviere at Killarney and produced a great ride to win by three-quarters of a length.
It was Walsh’s first winner under rules for any owner since May 2, when he rode McManus’ Saratoga to victory in the Ballymore Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival.
Speaking last month, Walsh admitted that it was very satisfying to ride four Grade 1 winners at the Dublin Racing Festival for JP McManus so soon after it was announced that Cobden would be replacing him as the owner’s number one rider.
Just weeks after the news broke, Walsh was as good as ever when riding Fact To File, Majborough, Narciso Has and Kaid d’Authie to victory at Leopardstown at the start of February.
“It came just at a time that I needed to get my name up in lights,” Walsh told Danny Mullins on ‘Tote’s Danny’s Diary: On Tour’. “The previous month, Harry Cobden had been named as JP’s number one for the new season so it was good to show that I could still do it after that.”
He added: “When the news broke that Harry Cobden was going to be JP’s new retained rider, I just had to get on with it.
“I had to bury it in the back of my head and not think about it. If you’re thinking about something like that going out for a race, you’re not going to do your job, so you have to just bury it and get on with the job in hand.”
Walsh also spoke of the pressure of the job and how his experience and maturity in the saddle helped him deal with losing the role.
He stated: “Riding all those good horses for JP down the years, it’s a high-pressure job. The older you get, the better you get at those things. I’m a good age now, so I think I dealt with it properly.
“I just kept my mouth shut. There’s no point balling around crying about it; nobody is going to listen to me anyway. So I just kept my mouth shut, head down and kept working.”
Walsh has had incredible significant success in the famous green and gold silks, winning all the championship races at the Cheltenham Festival bar the Champion Chase, which he hopes he can do before retiring.
“I think I’ve won the most Grade Ones for JP out of any jockey, so that’s a nice thing to have,” Walsh said.
“I’ve won a lot of the big races. I’ve won the Champion Hurdle, the Ryanair, the Stayers’ Hurdle and the Gold Cup, so the Champion Chase is the only one missing off the CV. I’d like to get that done before I retire.”
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