Jack Kennedy, the No 1 rider for Gordon Elliott’s powerful Irish stable, has been ruled out of the Cheltenham Festival later this month after failing to recover in time from a broken leg, sustained in a fall at Naas in January.
“He tried his best, but it [the Festival] is just coming too soon,” Kevin O’Ryan, the rider’s agent, said on Friday. “He is keen to get back as soon as possible, but he is going to give it all the time it needs. Hopefully it will be a couple of weeks after Cheltenham.”
In his absence, Davy Russell, who announced his retirement from race-riding in December and only returned to the saddle after Kennedy’s injury, will have high hopes of adding to his current total of 25 Cheltenham Festival winners.
Elliott’s team for National Hunt’s showpiece meeting includes Mighty Potter, the clear favourite for the Turners Novice Chase on 16 March and a Grade One winner, with Russell in the saddle, at last month’s Dublin Racing Festival. Gerri Colombe, who took the Scilly Isles Novice Chase at Sandown last month, is favourite for the Brown Advisory Novice Chase while Teahupoo is a leading contender for the Stayers’ Hurdle.
Russell has taken only two rides since a fall on the second day of the Dublin Racing Festival but is booked for two of Elliott’s runners at Leopardstown on Sunday. He is the 10-1 third-favourite to finish the Festival as the meeting’s leading rider, behind Paul Townend (1-3) and Nico de Boinville (6-1).
In other Festival news, prominent trainer Paul Nicholls has described himself as “livid” with the timing of the new whip rules ahead of Cheltenham.
New rules and a tougher penalty structure for misuse of the whip were introduced on 13 February by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), with 19 jockeys – including one of Nicholls’ stable riders Lorcan Williams – committing offences in the first week of implementation. Williams was banned for 18 days for a winning ride at Haydock, with the suspension ruling him out of the Cheltenham Festival in its entirety.
Nicholls has voiced his concern about the timing of the new rules previously, but he described himself as “livid” and accused the BHA of “appeasing” critics of the sport rather standing up for participants.
Speaking during an exclusive Betfair Cheltenham Festival preview podcast aired on Friday evening, he said: “I’m actually disappointed with the way BHA have handled it – talk about shooting the industry in the foot.
“There are people in the BHA [who] need to take a real look at themselves. Are they doing the right thing for the industry? Because I think they are letting us down and I think this whole thing is wrong.”
Deere Mark bids for Cheltenham cash
The switch to a handicap and a £100,000 bonus if the winner doubles up at the Cheltenham Festival have transformed the Morebattle Hurdle and the third renewal in its new format at Kelso on Saturday looks like the most competitive yet.
Emmet Mullins, who landed the bonus at the first time of asking in 2021, is clearly targeting another big payday with the favourite McTigue, who gets a four-year-old’s allowance against the older handicappers and holds four entries at the Festival later this month.
He has shown little on his last two starts, however, and it is mainly Mullins’s well-earned reputation for priming one for the big day that has sent him clear in the betting. A price of around 4-1 is easy to resist with several similarly progressive type in opposition and Deere Mark (1.50) could be the pick of them at around 7-1.
Sam Thomas’s novice, who is making only his fifth start over hurdles, led on the bit at the last and won with plenty in hand on his handicap debut at Kempton in January, and has scope for significant further improvement off just a 6lb higher mark.
Kelso 1.15 Sholokjack had plenty in hand when successful on his second start over fences last time and even an 11lb hike in the weights is unlikely to prevent him following up.
Doncaster 1.30 Gold Des Bois is the outsider of the six runners at around 14-1 but his close second over this track and trip in January gives him a solid chance with regular rider Conor O’Farrell back on board.
Newbury 2.10 A “seniors” event for eight-year-olds, in which the relatively lightly raced Dargiannini makes plenty of appeal to back up his recent win at Uttoxeter.
Kelso 2.25 Feronily is an interesting hurdles debutant for Emmet Mullins but will need to be very slick first time up to trouble Nemean Lion, a close third in the Grade One Tolworth Hurdle in January.
Newbury 2.45 Philip Hobbs nominated this race as the likely target for Zanza after his latest win at the track last month and is decent bet at around 100-30 to improve his course record to six-from-seven.
Kelso 3.00 The switch to handicaps and fitting of a tongue-tie have taken Santos Blue’s form to a new level and the form of his latest win was franked by the runner-up last weekend.
Doncaster 1.00 Champagne Town 1.30 Gold Des Bois (nb) 2.05 Whizz Kid 2.40 She’s A Saint 3.15 Cooper’s Cross 3.50 The Newest One 4.25 Fringill Dike 5.00 Willmount
Kelso 1.15 Sholokjack 1.50 Deere Mark (nap) 2.25 Nemean Lion 3.00 Santos Blue 3.35 Le Milos 4.10 Planet Legend 4.45 Bollingerandkrug
Lingfield 1.20 Minister For Magic 1.56 Tone The Barone 2.31 Triggered 3.06 Minnetonka 3.41 Sausalito 4.16 Fair And Square 4.51 Be Fair
Newbury 1.40 Mister Malarky 2.10 Dargiannini 2.45 Zanza 3.25 Fruit N Nut 4.00 Fame And Fun 4.35 Flash Collonges 5.10 Seeyouinmydreams
Wolverhampton 5.30 Victoria Falls 6.00 Mr Gambino 6.30 Sparks Fly 7.00 Tondeuse 7.30 Crystal Guard 8.00 Hashtagmetoo 8.30 Solanna
Doncaster 3.15 Cooper’s Cross put up a career-best performance in the Sky Bet Chase at this track last time and the extra two furlongs here could see further improvement.
Kelso 3.35 Le Milos has been given time to recover from his hard race in the Coral Gold Trophy at Newbury in November and looks more than ready for this step up to Listed company.
