Jack Kennedy: Ireland’s top equestrian races against time to get fit for Cheltenham Festival after breaking his leg | Racing news
Jack Kennedy looks set to be sidelined for a long time after it was confirmed he broke his leg in a fall in Naas on Sunday.
Now a lot like Gordon Elliott’s number one racer following the recent retirement of Davy Russell, the 23-year-old was riding for his boss in the Top Bandit when the two ran into trouble at the fourth fence in Rathmore Stud Irish EBF Novice Chase won by Appreciate it.
Top Bandit was unfortunately seriously injured in the incident and Kennedy was stretchered off the track and transported to Tallaght Hospital for further evaluation.
Conflated and Jack Kennedy Win The Savills Chase for Coach Gordon Elliott
Elliott said late in the afternoon the wound “did not appear to be well” and after an X-ray, his agent Kevin O’Ryan confirmed a fracture had been discovered.
He said: “It looks like it’s a crack in his shin and he’s going to see a surgeon in the next few days. It’s a big blow, but it could always be worse.”
Kennedy’s supporters will be delighted when he returns to Naas on Monday morning to watch some of Elliott’s students in practice.
However, whether he will be fit enough to ride at the Cheltenham Festival in just over nine weeks remains to be seen.
When asked how long he felt Kennedy would sit on the sidelines, O’Ryan added: “How long is a piece of rope? People heal differently.
“He will do his best to come back as quickly as possible, but how long that will last nobody knows.”
