Ted Walsh brought the curtain down a long association with RTE Racing when he announced his retirement from the cameras at this year's Punchestown Festival.
After forty years of working with the channel, the trainer and former jockey made the shock announcement on Saturday during the live coverage at the Kildare venue.
He said: "I got a great chance from RTE and I want to thank them very much for giving me the opportunity to comment on a sport that I love, filled of people that I admire, a lot of them are my friends.
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"I must say the late Tim O'Connor was a great help to me. Got me in it. It's 40 years. It's a long time to be doing anything and I've enjoyed every day of it.
"We've a great producer now in Ryan McCann and a good head of sport in Declan McBennett. Ryan, I know I've dropped you in it here with this, but at the same time you'll understand.
"There comes a time in everyone's life when they call it a day. Ruby called it a day pulling up here, so did Katie (Walsh) and Nina (Carberry) and so did Puppy Power and so is Ted Walsh."
Tributes have poured in for Walsh, who along with his Robert Hall, has been the voice of Irish racing for decades.
Barry Geraghty, who was on the RTE broadcasting team when Ted announced his retirement, said: It was an honour to be working for RTE Racing today with Jane Mangan and Lisa O’Neill alongside the great Ted Walsh as he announces his retirement from broadcasting. A man we all learned so much from including the viewers at home."
Jane Mangan said: "Ted Walsh & Robert Hall raised and informed generations of racing fans. They literally were RTÉ Racing for 30 years. Today marks the end of an iconic broadcasting career. For many, the end of all we’ve ever known. It has been our privilege. Thank you."
Ted was know for his straight nature that often left viewers in stitches, and in honour of the 73-year-old's retirement from RTE, we have compiled a list of some of his most memorable quotes.
1. "This is really a lovely horse, I once rode her mother"
It would be remiss to start anywhere else but a line that has found its way into many lists of the best sporting quotes.
Ted once made this comment of a promising sort. We knows what he means but it still gets us.
2. "I never ate a Kardashian"
The #AskTed series on RTE was a great innovation where viewers could tweet questions to the man himself.
One Twittter user once asked who was his favourite Kardashian?
A confused Ted replied: "I never ate a Kardashian."
3. "Go watch Peppa Pig!"
The protests by Animal Rising at this years's Aintree Grand National has put the sport in the spotlight.
But Ted has always defended it and urged authorities not to pamper to its detractors.
In his typical style, he said at the 2019 Cheltenham Festival: "If you don't like racing, go and watch Peppa Pig!
"That's what I say. Racing is what it is, it's a wonderful sport. Horses get killed, jockeys get injured, no-one knows that better than me watching Ruby. I got injured myself. It's part of the game, that's what the sport is.
"All the people here, they know that as well. Don't be pampering to those fellas, because they want to stop it altogether. They won't be happy until there's no racing, there's no point modifying it."
4. Mengli Khan and the other 'rotten sods'
Ted is an unforgiving taskmaster and has a special disdain for horses of an unpredictable nature.
Willie Mullins' talented but head strong Yorkhill has was called many names. Ted called him "A dirty rotten so'n'so, and nothing short of it."
Similarly, Mengli Khan left racegoers scratching their heads when running out through the wings of a hurdle at Leopardstown's Christmas meeting last year.
An exasperated Ted commented: "Out through the bloody wing. What a stupid horse to do that! Isn't he brain dead! What a clown!"
5. "If I had him at home, I’d find it hard not to go to bed with him."
This was Ted talking about Willie Mullins' star horse Faugheen after he romped to to success in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle in 2015.
6. Soccer swipe
Walsh is a racing man through and through and isn't afraid to have a jibe at other sports, so when a jockey took a heavy fall and a kicking in the Irish Grand National, he couldn't help referencing those soccer lads.
"If it was one of those soccer lads they'd be down until next Easter."
7. The water pistol starter
Horses can be a contrary bunch at times with many not fussed about running around a field when they could be chewing some grass.
Ted has the solution for the reluctant starter though.
"We used to have a water pistol and used to give it a shot up the arse between the cheeks to get it to start off."
8. "There's Ana. She's mad for it. She's love the riding."
This choice of words was reserved for Ana O'Brien after she came into the winner's enclosure fresh from riding a winner for her father Aidan.
9. Late Late Show
Ted has been a fairly regular guest on the Late Late Show over the years and he once had Gay Byrne squirming in his seat when discussion naturally moved to castration.
He was talking about a decision to give former Triumph Hurdle winner Commanche Court the snip.
"For those in the audience who have a pair of how's-your-fathers if you got a rub of a yard brush across them you'd be inclined to twinch a little bit, so we felt it would be better to take them away."
10. Tinder bewilderment
You can't talk about Ted without mention of Robert Hall with the duo covering Irish racing for decades.
They have covered a range of topics outside racing over the years, including dating application Tinder.
A runner called at the Curragh called Tinder prompted Robert to bring up the phone app.
"What? I never knew there was such a service," Ted replied.
11. "Mother and father of a fall"
How to describe a bad fall Ted-Walsh-style:
"That horse took an absolutely mother and father of a fall...he’s turned over and somersaulted...Jesus"
12. "Ah sh**t"
Ted has let more than one expletive slip over the years but it was the casual nature of this that particularly impressed.
It was this year's Punchestown Champion Hurdle and the two race favourites Samcro and Melon both fell at the same hurdle down the back straight.
13. "I would not be rushing to his dressmaker"
Ted's assessment of the striking attire of owner Rich Ricci who is known for his daring suits.
14. On Ragwort
At the Galway Races, Walsh was asked about ragwort, a yellow flowering plant that contains toxic compounds which can cause liver damage to equines and other livestock animals.
His response was typically forthright...
"I think it's an absolute disgrace around the country," he said of the growth of the plant.
"I pull ragworth. People say it's a carcenagenic. I've been pulling it since I was 16 and I'm not dead yet.
"I think it's a disgrace. Coming down and looking at the fields with ragworth. The county council should be shot and the dirty farmers that let it grow up around them... shoot them as well.
"Shoot the whole lot of them."
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