Name: Troy Walsh
Age: 20
From: Danesfort, Kilkenny
20-year-old Troy Walsh was one of no fewer than three riders to record their first career successes at Moira on Saturday when his boss Aidan (Scobie) Fitzgerald supplied him with his milestone first victory aboard Garm Colombe.
How did you get started with horses?
I don’t really have a background in racing, I would have started riding ponies with friends at a riding school in Kilkenny and it all grew from there.
Dad bred a thoroughbred and when that came around to be broken and I was the one that was riding ponies at home so I sat up on it for the first time and backed it and it started from there really. It was never going to be anything else bar going riding.
I went to Willie Mullins as part of my work experience in Transition Year and it all took off from there. It was unreal to get the experience there and ended up in Willie’s for three years while I was in school, I would go over at weekends or for school holidays.
How did you come to work for Scobie?
After I finished my Leaving Cert I went to Scobie’s that August. Richie Deegan was riding out in Willie’s one morning and I just said it to him. He told me that there might be a job there for me if I rang Scobie, so that’s what I did.
Scobie said to come to him on the 1st of August when all the three-year-old’s would be coming back, so I started at the beginning of August that year and I’ve been there ever since.
He has given me every chance that he can and I’m delighted to have been able to get the win on the board for him on Saturday. He has been very good to me and taught be so much.
Whether it’s riding work, out on the gallop at home, schooling, anything that he sees that he thinks he can help you with he will.
He got them horses for us to learn the trade and to hopefully get one or two which were well capable of winning one. That was Garm Colombe, his first run for us and in a point-to-point and I would say he will go on to a winner-of-one race now and I can’t see why he wouldn’t go on and do the same thing again in that.
I am with Scobie full time but any time that anyone rings to go schooling or to ride a piece of work he has been very good to let me do that.
Now that you have had your first winner, what are your ambitions for remainder of the season?
I would love to keep going forward, to stay sound and maybe ride a couple of more winners this season to get going with my name out there.
What do you think of the additional 5lb claim for riders with less than 5 winners in novice races?
The novice rider races having a 5lb claim will help people starting out big time. Obviously everyone wants to give the claimers a chance so the likes of Scobie are getting those older horses to run in novice rider races where we have the 5lb claim to our name.
Is there any rider in particular that you think people should watch out for?
Kieran Callaghan is one to look out for, he is with Willie Mullins. He had a winner for Barry Fitzgerald and rode a horse for Willie in Galway. He is improving the whole time and is one to watch for.
Are there any horses that you are looking forward to seeing this season?
Donny Boy won a four-year-old maiden for Scobie at Dromahane last year and I think that he could be a nice horse.
I also can’t wait to see Energumene of Willie Mullins’ now as he steps out into open company. He looked very good in Punchestown, so hopefully he can keep that going and go on to achieve bigger things.
Do you have any other interests outside of racing?
I would watch hurling and would follow the Kilkenny team a lot.
