Gordon Elliott says 'special' Jack Kennedy will find out festival fate on Friday

Jack Kennedy will find out his Cheltenham fate on Friday and, if passed fit, he will be on board Mighty Potter, Gerri Colombe and the rest of Gordon Elliott's A-team.

That remains a big 'if', though, and Elliott stressed Kennedy will need to be back in action towards the end of next week if he is to be his top rider at Cheltenham. His first ride back from a broken leg will not be on Doctor Bravo in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle, according to the trainer. He will need to have ridden before then.

The 23-year-old, who has already ridden a staggering 36 Grade 1 winners, fractured his tibia and fibula from a fall off Top Bandit in a novice chase at Naas in early January. It was the fifth time he has broken his leg.

Elliott remains hopeful Kennedy will win his fitness race and revealed the answer will be known on Friday when he returns to see surgeon Paddy Kenny.

Elliott said of his jockey situation: "Jack is just something special and he's only 23 years of age. I’m 100 percent behind him. If he’s back he rides everything as he’s first jockey and if he’s not, we’ll have Davy [Russell], Jordan [Gainford] and Sam [Ewing]. We've a great team of jockeys here and I'm very lucky to have them.

"I was with Jack on Saturday night and had a good chat with him. He went back into hospital and got good news from his surgeon Paddy Kenny the other day. He’s in Santry sports clinic all this week doing rehab and is back to see Paddy on Friday. He’ll know on Friday whether it’s yes or no.

"He’s making good progress, but he’s still 50-50. He’d have to be back riding out next week and have a couple of rides the weekend before and then on to Cheltenham."

Davy Russell, who took a dramatic U-turn out of retirement following Kennedy's injury in January, has not ridden since finishing third on Deeply Superficial at Sandown 11 days ago. Elliott is not too concerned by his absence and very much wants him on his festival team.

He said: "I haven’t really spoken to Davy for the last two weeks but that's no big deal. If Jack’s not back, the wealth of experience Davy has is unbelievable. He’s worth his weight in gold around Cheltenham."

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