Amateur jockey Katie Walsh partnered her first winner for trainer John Oxx when steering Minsk to an easy win in the Curragh Amateur Derby at The Curragh today.

Afterwards Oxx said “Minsk is a nice horse and I gave him a bit of time over the summer as he is a big ‘rangey’ devil. We took our time and let him mature and he has been improving steadily.

“He stays well and should get better as he gets older. He won nicely there and while it is hard to know where to go next, I’ll be surprised if he wasn’t bought to go jumping.”

Oxx later joked “I’ve completed the Triple Crown now! Katie’s father Ted rode winners for me and for my own father while Ruby, during his brief career as an amateur jockey, won the big amateur riders handicap at Galway for me. I was waiting for a chance to get Katie and that was her first ride for me.”

Thomas Weekes