Ted Walsh admitted watching his son Ruby take a fall that ended his Cheltenham Festival was "torture", but has no doubt the jockey will be back in the saddle and doing what he does best soon.
No pilot has more Cheltenham Festival wins under his belt than Ruby Walsh, who moved heaven and earth to recover in time for this year's edition after breaking his leg in a fall back in November.
He scored two wins on Day 1 at Prestbury Park but parted company with Al Boum Photo at the penultimate fence in the second race of Day 2, the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase, re-injuring the same leg in an awkward landing.
His father Ted said watching the tumble left his heart in his mouth as paternal instincts kicked in.
"This horse rolled completely over him," he told Sean O'Rourke on the RTÉ Today programme.
"Nine times out of ten they get up and shake themselves off. But I knew when he got up, and he went down again, there was a bit more to it. It's torture for everybody.
"We're no different than any other parent. To me he's still only a kid. You always get a shock.
"We take it to heart. We appreciate the great days and we feel very sad on the bad days. You know the risks that are there.
"He's disappointed more than anything else. The mental torture of missing the rest of Cheltenham, and maybe having to sit out a couple of more weeks for recovery, is the worst part of it.
"The actual injury, you can put it aside and say 'that's it'."
#RUKQuoteOfTheDay: An emotional Katie Walsh reflects on her success aboard Relegate in the Champion Bumper and Ruby Walsh’s injury @CheltenhamRaces. #TheFestival
— Racing UK (@Racing_UK) March 14, 2018
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Ruby's sister Katie went on to steer Relegate to victory in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper on the same day her brother suffered his fall, and afterwards gave an emotional interview in which she fought back tears.
"Katie is very close to Ruby," Ted Walsh added. "She knew how much hardship he'd gone through physically to get himself in shape to be able to perform at the highest level and then come and prove it on Tuesday, the way he rode. It's life isn't it?
"It's not too bad. He's aggravated the old injury. The doctors in Gloucester Hospital were very positive about. It looks like it's not too bad.
"When you say to yourself, 'I don't love this anymore', then it's time to pack it in, but who'd want to get out of something you love as much as that?"
