In an exclusive interview with BOYLE Sports Legendary Irish jockey Paul Carberry has argued that Harry Cobden is the correct choice for retained jockey role with JP McManus and what that means for Mark Walsh.
Elsewhere Paul speaks highly of former boss JP McManus and his impact on racing, he explains how he would fix Constitution Hill's issue over fences and builds on the importance of the Dublin Racing Festival.
Irish Jockeys
Cobden “The Right Man For The Job”,
It is a huge job for him, definitely. It is the one everybody wants to get. JP McManus is a great person to ride for and good people to work for as well. I rode a good few winners for him, and I never felt any extra pressure. He never did that. He is a very easy man to ride for, and lucky enough, I was successful for him.
Harry is the right man for the job; he is a very good rider. He is just very good; he doesn't do much wrong or throw away too many races. He simply doesn’t make any mistakes, that’s what you need in a jockey, 100 per cent every time.
Walsh Move
JP has been very good to Mark, and I’m sure Mark will understand [the move]. Mark has always been a very good rider. He had been the second jockey for a long time, then got the main role when Barry Geraghty stepped down. Mark is still a very good rider. I’m sure he will understand.
The big thing is that he [Cobden] wasn't on a retainer with Paul Nicholls, and that is a big difference when you get a lot of money to do the job that you love and to ride for that man; it is very hard to turn down.
JP McManus
Hopefully, JP Never Dies!
Hopefully, he never dies and stays around forever! He looks after me, everybody in the industry. I break in a few horses for him; he looks after us all. He is a great man.
Constitution Hill
Fixing Constitution Hill
I suppose it is a smart move for Southwell; they’ll get a big crowd in. For me, I’d like to see him go over hurdles again and give it another try. I don’t think there is any reason why he shouldn't try again.
I know he has had a couple of falls. I think you need to make up his mind for him. He is a very good jumper. At the end of the day, if you win a couple of flat races, he still won't be as good as he is over jumps. You could maybe have sent him over fences and then brought him back to hurdles.
It just seems to be a lack of communication between the two of them [horse and jockey] when he is coming to a hurdle, I think you need to be a bit more aggressive with him and send him over, rather than give him no instruction and then the horse doesn't know what to do - that’s the way it looks to me anyway.
The Dublin Racing Festival
The Dublin Racing Festival
It is a very big meeting, alright, very influential in the calendar. There is a lot of money there, a lot of big races that you can’t go for. It is a good two days; there has been some serious racing for the last couple of years. It is a very big pointer towards Cheltenham. The best horses are going to be there, and at Cheltenham, it’s about five weeks.
They are spread out fairly enough, the Festivals in Ireland, starting at Down Royal and then Punchestown, then Navan and Fairyhouse, then Leopardstown, they are spread out well to give horses time to recover and go again, that is a huge help.
There will be a lot of pointers from the DRF to Cheltenham; the ones that win there, you know, will have a good chance at Cheltenham.
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