Exclusive: Record looming but don't bank on 'big four' warns father Ted

As Ruby Walsh returns to a tumultuous ovation in the hallowed winner's enclosure at Cheltenham, the mercurial Irishman looks skywards towards the Channel Four commentary box.

He smiles knowingly in the direction of his father Ted – a respected trainer and television pundit sat in his eerie – before accepting the raucous acclaim of the crowd.

The winner of an unprecedented seven Festival races 12 months ago, Walsh only needs one more success to equal the all-time record of 25 victories set by Pat Taaffe – the Irish darling who will always be remembered for his hat-trick of Gold Cup triumphs aboard the incomparable Arkle in the 1960s.

He has also moved comfortably clear, in the jockeys' standings, of his great friend and rival Tony McCoy – the 14-times champion jockey – who has only ridden one winner at each of the last three Festivals.

The 30-year-old Walsh's domination of Cheltenham was so complete last year that he came within a whisker of winning Cheltenham's four 'blue riband' races in one week – the Champion Hurdle, the Champion Chase, World Hurdle and Gold Cup.

Only Celestial Halo, a gallant runner-up to the battling Punjabi, in the Champion Hurdle, denied Walsh the chance of achieving an unrivalled feat of horsemanship.

Perversely, hurdling's blue riband race is the one major race that the 'Silver Fox' – a nickname given to the jockey because of his prematurely greying hair – has not won in his illustrious career.

Yet Walsh senior believes it will be far harder this week for his son to replicate last year's heights – even though the defending champions Master Minded (Champion Chase), Big Buck's (World Hurdle) and Kauto Star (Gold Cup) are heavy odds-on favourites

"You would expect one of them to be beat. History and the law of averages say so," he told the Yorkshire Post.

"Which one? I don't know. Possibly Master Minded, if he's not improved from his Newbury run where he blundered at the last and Ferdy Murphy's Kalahari King can find some more improvement.

"But don't expect Ruby to win the 'big four' – I just don't think Celestial Halo has the class for the Champion Hurdle. The race will go to Ireland, either with Go Native, who is having an exceptional season or Solwhit, though he scoped badly last week.

"And I don't think Ruby will win seven. He hasn't got the ammunition in the lesser races; he doesn't appear to have horses like Cooldine and Mikael D'Haguenet – stars in their own right – this year."

Walsh, whose Commanche Court was a gallant second when Best Mate won the first of his three Gold Cups in 2002, is

very matter-of-fact when

asked to explain his loyalties this week.

"I'm a father first and an Irishman second," he said.

"Did I think he'd be in with a shout of beating Pat Taaffe's record when he started out? No. Probably not, if I'm honest.

"When Ruby had his first Festival winner in 1998 and won the Bumper on Alexander Banquet, and got the better of a hard pro like Conor O'Dwyer in the finish, I thought he would be good.

"But it was only when he won the 2000 National on Papillon – which I had the good fortune to train – did I think that he could make a good career out of this game. And the reason he's done so well is not just his riding; it's the horses. If you have the best horses, it makes a difference. If anyone tells you any different, they're talking rubbish.

"Barry Geragthy was not a bad jockey when he teamed up with Nicky Henderson, and then won last year's Champion Hurdle on Punjabi.

"He was a bloody good rider – but he only gets the credit now that he has a higher profile. If you're the riding equivalent of Scunthorpe United, however, you're in trouble."

Walsh admits to being reluctant to tip his son's horses. He doesn't want to put any more pressure on his shoulders.

He is less reticent when it comes to the perennial question of Arkle's claim to be the greatest steeplechaser of all time.

If Walsh can, once again, inspire Kauto Star up Cheltenham's unremitting hill on Friday, the French-bred horse will have won NH Racing's premier race for three out of the past four years (his only defeat came in 2008 when he was second to his stablemate, Denman, this year's chief market rival.

Some will claim that this will trump the three straight victories recorded by the mighty Arkle in his pomp – or the hat-trick recorded by the Henrietta Knight-trained Best Mate between 2002-04.

Walsh disagrees.

"You will never get an Irish person to admit that Kauto Star is as good as Arkle – even if he wins five Gold Cups and five King George's at Kempton," he added. "They are also very different horses.

"Had he not been injured, Kauto could have won a Champion Chase at the age of five. By that age, Arkle had not seen a steeplechase fence.

"They were trained very differently – but what you have to remember is that many of Arkle's greatest performances came in handicap chases, like the Irish National, when he was carrying stones more than his rivals.

"I just don't see Kauto doing this, even if he had the chance, but I do expect him to win the Gold Cup this week – and there will be no-one happier than me, even though I'm a proud Irishman to the end.

"Just don't ask me to say he's as good as Arkle. Because I won't – and Ruby will probably agree."

Cheltenham's top jockeys

Ruby Walsh could become the most successful Cheltenham jockey this week. He currently sits second behind Pat Taaffe in the list of total winners since 1945.

Pat Taaffe 25

Ruby Walsh 24

Tony McCoy 21

Richard Dunwoody 18

Charlie Swan 17

Fred Winter 17

Tommy Carberry 16

Barry Geraghty 16

Robert Thornton 15

Mick Fitzgerald 14

Richard Johnson 13

Peter Scudamore 13

*Current jockeys in bold.