Ruby Walsh's guide to the Grand National course

NO jockey is better qualified to talk about riding the John Smith's Grand National course than Ruby Walsh.

In nine rides in the race, he has won twice, finished second, third and fourth on two occasions. He has completed the track on eight of his nine attempts and has never once fallen victim to the fences.

His record is incomparable in the modern era. This is his guide to tackling the sport's most demanding test.

The build-up
It's different to any other race because it takes so long to get from the weighing room to the start.

The jockeys have to line up for a picture, then we have to find our horse, meet connections, get on the track, get organised for the parade, canter three furlongs to the first fence, canter back to the start, wait for 40 horses to get girthed up and then wait for the starter to do his stuff.

It takes up to half an hourfor it all to happen. By the time the race starts, you feel like you've nearly run a race yourself. That's why the National gets the adrenaline flowing like nothing else.

The start
The starters have received unfair criticism in the last few years and I know theirs is a job I'd hate to be doing. People say that the jockeys don't listen to the starter and that's why we get false starts, but it's not as straightforward as that.

It's a bit like the first tackles in a Cup Final - they're always ugly because the players are revved up. The Grand National is the same. All the lads are revved up and ready to go.

We listen to the guy on the rostrum, but if he's telling me to stand still and the two jockeys either side of me are edging forward, I've got to move as wellto stop myself ending up behind them.

Okay, if I move I might get suspended, but if I stand still and the two either side of me edge in front of my horse on the way to the first, I don't see the fence and I fall. If that happens, whatgood has standing still done me?

As for the best place to be at the start, it depends on the horse. Riding Papillon it was easy and I could go straight down the paint as he was straightforward. Hedgehunter, on the other hand, was a bit keen so I needed to get a bit of cover.

Generally, though, I'll have a glance at what people are doing, see where the numbers are and go where there's less of them. If I find that 30 of the 40 lads want to go up the inside, I'll take my chance with the ten up the outer. If there's only five going up the middle, I'll head for the middle as well.

I'll have the same plan on Big Fella Thanks. It's a percentage call. Go where there's fewerhorses and you see more of the first fence and also reduce the chance of being brought down.

Fence 1
I know it's a four-and-a-half-mile race, but a horse with pace is a big help through the first mile as he makes it so much easier to get a position. On Shotgun Willy, I missed the break and could then never get him jumping or into a rhythm. On a slow horse, you're on your head and flat out from the start, which makes the first fence trappy.

As a jockey, you don't ride that first fence any differently to any other fence. The horse will either take to it or he won't. You can't make him. All you would love is to get a bit of room and see the fence, which is easier to do on a quicker horse.

Any horse can be unlucky and fall at the first, but generally those that do belong in one of two categories; you've got the horse that has been going flat out at his maximum speed, but there's also the horse who has been lit up by the occasion - that sort of horse will run away to the first, catch the top of the fence and come down.

Fences 2 to 4
I know people say the Grand National fences have become smaller, but the race is still a lottery. Having said that, the second fence rides pretty much like any other fence at any othertrack. The only thing that makes it different is that it's green.

The third, the first ditch, is a big jump. After negotiating it, some horses are left shocked and go away from it unsure what the next fence is going to be like. It's that next fence, the fourth, that is usually the best indicator of whether a horse has taken to the Grand National fences.

If, having jumped the big ditch, he attacks the fourth and doesn't back off it, it tends to mean the ditch hasn'tfrightened him. You know then that your horse isn't afraid of Aintree.

Sometimes, though, the same horse can be different from year to year. Papillon was brilliant the first time but not so good when he went back. He was way more careful on his second trip at Aintree and Big Fella Thanks could be the same. It's a very common problem and that's my biggest fear for Big Fella Thanks - horses going back to Aintree sometimes don't like it.

Fence 5 and 6(Becher's Brook)
By now, if you're lucky, the fear factor has gone from your horse and you can start plotting your way to Becher's. Ideally, you'd like to be towards the middle of the track.

What's the point of being on the inside? Again, it's about percentages. Why take a bigger chance on the inside? Yes, it's the shortest way, but the inside of Becher's also has the biggest drop.

In a perfect world, you want to be three or four lengths off the one in front of you and to the left or right of it. I also don't care at all about positioning myself for Foinavon - all I'm ever thinking about is getting over Becher's!

There's still a good drop on the landing side and the momentum carries horses on to their heads. As a jockey, you find yourself automatically going back in the saddle. That's just due to sheer gravity. What you want is a clean jump. You're hoping that the horse can keep its balance because you know you can't haul him off the ground - we're talking about half a ton of horse and ten stone of jockey. If he's going down, he's going down.

The horse that nudges Becher's and pecks is gone. It's as simple as that. However, the spectacular jumpers can fall there as well and you do feel sorry for the horse that overjumps, does the splits and falls - at almost any other fence, he would stay on his feet.

For me, the scariest moment at Becher's was in the year Hedgehunter won. That was the day a loose horse carried AP on Clan Royal into the corner of the fence. I was the next one coming and, in fairness to Hedgehunter, he could have refused. Instead, he just steadied himself and popped it.

Fence 7 (Foinavon)
Going to Foinavon, most jockeys are just grateful they've got over Becher's. The fence is on a slight angle, so it's important to stay just in front of the horses either side of you to prevent yourself getting squashed into the corner.

After jumping Becher's, a lot of horses will back off at Foinavon. They're waiting for a drop that's not there. Because of that, many take it very slowly and lose a lot of ground. Even if your own fella is fine, you can find yourself jumping into the back of a horse who has taken it slowly in front of you.

Fence 8 (Canal Turn)
The more you cut the corner, the bigger the jump becomes. If you jump it at an angle, you're covering more of the fence than if you jump it straight.

On Papillon, I could cut the corner as much as I wanted because he had so much scope that it didn't matter how big the jump became. On the other hand, I could slow Hedgehunter into the bottom of the fence and let him pop it straight because he could then turn on a sixpence.

Most jockeys are clever enough to know not to go up the inside of a jockey who is edging out at the Canal Turn. You don't want to see some stupid bugger coming up your inner when you've wandered out to take the fence.

Last year, My Will took it out of the ground and landed on his ears. He busted some of the fences but he kept getting his front legs out, which is a big help. There were two or three times that I thought we were gone, but although he's clumsy he's also clever enough not to fall.

He thinks, and that's what you want in a National horse. It makes no difference how much the jockey thinks through the race - he isn't jumping the fences, the horse is.

Fence 9 (Valentine's Brook)
The only thing that Valentine's has is a name. Compared to some of the fences, it's nothing.

Fences 10 to 12
This is the easiest side of the track. Things have calmed down, there's no roar from the crowd and life becomes a bit more peaceful, although it's also around this point that loose horses can come into play. You're always trying to second guess them, and that's pot luck.

The 11th fence, the next ditch, is the biggest test on this stretch, but if your horse has taken to Aintree, he'll be fine.

Fences 13 and 14
You're heading back on to the racecourse proper at this point and horses often bunch up on the run from the 12th because there's a long run between that and the 13th. The field gets packed up and that means the two fences ride a bit tight. Horses can fall here, not because of the size of the fences but because you've got 30 very condensed horses.

Fence 15 (The Chair)
The horses in front will tend to quicken going into The Chair, which helps spread the field out a little. It's one hell of a fence, but it's only an illusion that makes it bigger than the third. It's narrow, so it looks taller and more daunting.

If you can get some momentum and meet it on a stride, you're fine. However, you have to take what you're given. This isn't show jumping. If you're on a horse with plenty of power, it doesn't matter if you take it long or short, but on a horse with less power, you're hoping to meet it close to the take-off boardso the spread isn't too much.

You need a bit of luck at The Chair, and I've had that two or three times.

>> Ruby Walsh was talking to Lee Mottershead 

Originally published in the Racing Post on April 10, 2010