Nico de Boinville doubtful for big January rides after breaking collarbone

Jockey Nico de Boinville will face a race against time to be fit for big January rides on Jonbon and Constitution Hill after an x-ray revealed he broke his collarbone when falling from Therapist at Doncaster on Friday.

Nicky Henderson's stable jockey, who took a nasty fall two out in the 2m½f juvenile maiden hurdle, was forced to miss several rides at Newbury on Saturday including Jeriko Du Reponet, an  impressive winner of the 2m½f introductory hurdle.

Although the jockey "will be out for a while", all his focus will be on recovery, with a significant number of horses from Seven Barrows expected to run next month.

Jonbon is poised to clash with El Fabiolo in the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase at Ascot on January 20, while stable star Constitution Hill, who De Boinville partnered to success in the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day, could head to the Unibet International Hurdle at Cheltenham on Trials day on January 27.

Speaking on his Unibet blog, De Boinville said: "Unfortunately I will be out for a while.

"I pretty much knew that it wasn’t a routine departure soon after I hit the deck, and an x-ray on Saturday morning confirmed that I had broken my clavicle. It’s obviously annoying, with so many of our good horses looking to prove themselves in better races at this time of the year, as at Newbury, but it’s only a small-scale setback in the grand scheme of things."

De Boinville has enjoyed a strong first half of the season with 45 winners from 168 rides, which also included Grade 1 success on Jonbon in the Tingle Creek at Sandown this month.

He added: "I don’t know exactly how long I will be out for at the moment, but I’ll just have to get my head down and concentrate on the recovery. Others are in a far worse spot than me, so I won’t be feeling sorry for myself." 

Trainer Olly Murphy said in-form Gavin Sheehan will ride Strong Leader in Monday's Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham, with Sean Bowen, who is leading the jump jockeys' title race, facing a spell on the sidelines after his fall from Farren Glory in the Grade 1 Formby Novices' Hurdle at Aintree on Boxing Day.

Murphy told Racing TV: "I'm terribly sorry for Sean who is on the sidelines for a couple of weeks. He's in good spirits but he's just battered and bruised. Hopefully he'll be back before too long."

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