Katie Walsh pays tribute as 'horse of a lifetime' who won at Cheltenham dies
Katie Walsh has dubbed popular grey Thousand Stars the 'horse of a lifetime' after the 21-year-old passed away on Thursday.
The gelding, who arrived in Ireland from France 18 years ago, fell into the hands of Closutton maestro Willie Mullins in 2009 and hit the ground running, winning a handicap at Naas on yard debut under icon Ruby Walsh, brother to Katie.
For the next seven years, the son of Grey Risk would become a jumps hero, winning the 2010 County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and tasting Grade 1 glory on four occasions, often battling it out with superstar stablemate Hurricane Fly.
Upon his retirement in 2016, having earned over €1.4 million in prize money, Thousand Stars was placed in Walsh's care. He often appeared on RTE racing, with Walsh on board to interview winning jockeys.
"He was a fantastic horse and I had some great days on him. He was the horse of a lifetime and lovely to be around," admitted Walsh, speaking after the grey's death following a bout of colic.
"The County Hurdle was a great day, it was my second winner at Cheltenham. I rode him in a lot of Grade 1s, chasing home Hurricane Fly on numerous occasions. He ran in a lot of top-class races.
"It just goes to show how sound he was of wind, legs and everything. That's the standout part about it all. He had a lot of runs in France before he went to Lar Byrne and then went to Willie's. He definitely stood the test of time and was a very sound horse."
During his time with Mullins, Walsh, her brother, and current Closutton No. 1 Paul Townend all got a leg up on Thousand Stars, and the endearing grey won a total of 10 times.
Most notable was his Cheltenham Festival success in 2010, when Walsh steered the then-six-year-old home as a 20-1 shot in the County Hurdle.
Their partnership resulted in three wins from 17 outings. The gelding had an affinity for Auteuil, and he and Walsh combined to win the Grade 2 Prix la Barka Hurdle there in 2014.
Five of Thousand Stars' wins came at the French track, including the Grade 1 Grande Course de Haies D'Auteuil in 2011. His other Grade 1 win was in the Morgiana Hurdle that same year, with Ruby doing the steering.
"He was with us a long time, it was lovely to have him," Walsh, who herself retired in 2018, continued. "I used to do all the RTE work and the jockeys' interviews on him. He was a great horse for that.
"From the day I went to Willie's, he was there and since he retired, he's been with us. He was always around the place and it was great to get the opportunity to look after him and I'm sorry he's gone."
Carlow trainer Mullins was also enamoured with the grey, and said upon the gelding's retirement in 2016: "He was an iron horse. He was tough and sound. He never showed off at home. You would never see him do a flashy piece of work but he saved everything for the track. He was a favourite of everyone in the yard."
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