Davy Russell: 'Jack will be back - what's happened to him won't sink the ship'

Davy Russell has spoken of his faith in Jack Kennedy's capacity to bounce back from the latest injury catastrophe that saw him break a leg for a fifth time when Top Bandit fell at Naas on Sunday.

Kennedy is just 23 years of age but has been plagued by injuries already. His latest setback came at a time when he was after stealing a march on Paul Townend in the Irish jockeys' championship, starting last Sunday with a lead of 20 over the five-time champion.

Speaking to the Racing Post for a major interview in Sunday's newspaper, which will be available online on Saturday evening from 6pm, Russell, who has made the sensational decision to return to the saddle while Kennedy is sidelined, has backed the rider to put the episode behind him.

"Jack will be back – what's happened to him won't sink the ship. He is a phenomenal man. Like, he is only 23 but he is a man already," Russell said.

Fifteen years ago, when Russell was chasing a breakthrough first championship, a mid-April Fairyhouse fall left him with a broken wrist. He had led for most of the season and was five clear of Ruby Walsh at the time, but his absence paved the way for Walsh to retain his title by the same margin.

'I cried like a baby at Fairyhouse that day'

"The championship is obviously going to be a huge ask for Jack now and he was after getting a flyer, but all I could tell him was that I was five clear of Ruby when I broke my ankle in April," Russell told the Racing Post.

"I cried like a baby at Fairyhouse that day. Nobody knows it, but I did – there were tears running down my face. I still hadn't won a title, but I went on to win three."

In an in-depth interview, Russell also discusses at length his thought process behind his return to the saddle just a month after he walked away from race-riding. Responding to suggestions he was not ready to retire last month, he insists his motivation is simply to support Gordon Elliott and his Cullentra team at the height of the jump season.

"I suppose it was a funny time of the year for me to retire," he says.

"I had to renew my licence the week of Thurles just to go out on a winner, so I have that, and the timing of it meant I had only stopped race-riding for a few weeks. The only reason is to help the team, and if I'd been off for much longer I wouldn't have come back."

Read more from Davy Russell in Sunday's Racing Post newspaper. Members' Club subscribers can read the Big Read online from 6pm on Saturday. Click here to sign up.

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