RUBY Walsh isn’t known for suffering fools or dishing out effusive praise without good reason, so when he describes a rider as “magical to watch”, you know it’s an endorsement to be proud of.

For a number of years, Keith Donoghue’s achievements could arguably have been viewed as being especially noteworthy, due to the fact they were being achieved in spite of a considerable battle with the scales. Nowadays, however, that factor rarely appears in the discussions surrounding his biggest successes. He is simply renowned and established as one of the finest National Hunt riders you’ll find anywhere - and rightly so.