They may be two of the best jockeys ever to ride in the UK, but that did not mean Ruby Walsh and AP McCoy were immune to making mistakes.
Both admitted as much while carrying out their punditry roles at this year's Cheltenham Festival. Walsh and McCoy are both working for ITV Racing, which has the rights to broadcast the first five races of each day from Gloucestershire.
On Tuesday, before the Champion Hurdle, the two horse racing legends were discussing how the rest of the field might be able to stop heavy favourite Honeysuckle, ridden by superstar jockey Rachael Blackmore. Both came to the conclusion that it was hard to imagine anyone managing it.
"Is there a way you go about beating her? I know you say 'just ride your own horse', but you need to find a way to make it difficult for her," said McCoy. "You have to try to make it as difficult as possible for her – but there is no weakness, is there?"
Walsh replied: "There isn't. I tried to do that on Min one time in the Champion Chase against Altior. You're trying not to help the other horses, but sometimes you can overcomplicate it AP."
The 42-year-old went on to elaborate by using a past example from the same race in 2012, in which Hurricane Fly ridden by Walsh and McCoy on Binocular were unable to stop Rock On Ruby from upsetting the odds and winning fairly comfortably.
"We both overcomplicated it in the Champion Hurdle one year," he told viewers. "We sat too far off Rock On Ruby, the pair of us, but you have to keep it simple and that's what Rachael has to do."
Who is the greatest jockey of all time? Have your say in the comments section.
While Walsh was clearly ready to admit that he had made a mistake in that race 10 years ago, McCoy was not so keen to bear fault. He replied: "No, no, you overcomplicated it! I was told to follow you at all costs. You're getting the blame okay, I'm not taking the blame for that."
While they may have made that mistake a decade ago, their analysis of Honeysuckle's chances in this year's Champion Hurdle turned out to be faultless. The mighty mare and her rider Blackmore successfully defended their title in the feature race of day one, marking her 15th triumph in a row.
Heading into the race unbeaten the Irish raider was a heavily backed favourite, but did face stiff competition on form from Willie Mullins' Appreciate It. Despite the pressures though, both jockey and horse held their nerve in impressive fashion to secure a second successive victory in this race.
