Jack Kennedy on comeback trail and eyeing summer return from broken leg

If you thought Jack Kennedy was one of the few to be content by the current shutdown of racing then think again.

Despite continuing his recovery from the broken leg which ruled him out of the Cheltenham Festival, the gifted 20-year-old jockey is missing the action more than anyone and cannot wait for normality to return.

Kennedy is nursing a fractured right femur following a fall from Dallas Des Pictons which occurred half an hour after winning the Irish Gold Cup on Delta Work at Leopardstown in February.

The injury ended his season, but he fully expects to be back in action come the Galway summer festival at the end of July and he hopes racing can return as quickly as possible, even without him.

Kennedy said:"You might think that I’d be happy with no racing on because I cannot ride, but I actually hate it. I love going racing and I love watching it too. I find the days very boring with no racing to watch. I cannot wait until it starts back again.

"The recovery is going well, and I would hope to be back riding out in the next month to six weeks. I’d definitely hope to be back in time for Galway. The process is a little bit slower than the last time I broke my femur as the fracture was higher up last time. Where it happened this time cannot take as much weight. I’m still on crutches at the moment but I’m putting as much weight on it as I can and it’s getting better all the time.

"My appointments with the specialist have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 circumstances, but I’ve been in contact regularly with Dr Paddy Kenny and he’s happy with how things are progressing. He’s given me plenty of exercises to get all the muscles back working."

Delta Work: bidding for back-to-back Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup victoriesCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Kennedy was forced to watch on as Samcro restored his reputation in the Marsh Chase at Cheltenham, knowing he would have been on board had he not broken his leg, while Supreme runner-up Abacadabras was another high-profile ride he missed out on.

Kennedy added: "It was obviously annoying to miss the ride on Samcro, but I was delighted for the horse that he won. He deserved it. As for Abacadabras, he ran a cracker. He is a pleasure to ride as he just picks up whenever you want him to. He has so much speed. It is great for the yard to hopefully have a Champion Hurdle contender next season."

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