Jody Townend completes comeback from serious injury with big Galway win

Jody Townend, younger sister of Ireland's champion jump jockey Paul Townend, was the star of the show on the first night of the Galway festival when landing the Connacht Hotel Amateur Riders Handicap on Great White Shark, only nine months after suffering serious back injuries.

The 21-year-old brought the Willie Mullins-trained mare, a well-supported 8-1 shot, on the outside from well off the pace to land the feature race by a length and three-quarters.

Townend had a schooling fall at Mullins' yard in October and after her victory she outlined just how badly she was injured.

She said: "I broke my T12 vertebrae. I had to get six screws and two rods put in and a stabiliser as the fracture was on my spinal cord. I was supposed to be back riding in February but my back started weeping and I ended up having to have three operations in total.

"The infection went into the bone and I was on a drip for six weeks. But that's all in the past now. To win this race is unbelievable – it's some buzz."

Asked if her brother had given her any advice about riding the track, the winning rider joked: "He had no faith in me. He didn't even wait for the race and went home!"

Townend only resumed race riding earlier this month and Mullins, completing a hat-trick of wins in the race, said: "I told Jody that if the mare didn't break well to take her time and to keep wide and stay out of trouble. That's what she did and it worked out lovely."

Great White Shark, owned by Malcolm Denmark, was one of four Mullins-trained runners in the race. Mr Adjudicator started the 9-4 favourite but had a troubled passage before finishing well for fourth.

Dalton Highway finished second with the Harry Fry-trained Litterale Ci in third.

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