More injury woe for Jack Kennedy as collarbone break forces him out of Listowel

Jack Kennedy has lost a race against time to recover from his latest collarbone fracture before the Listowel Harvest Festival, which starts on Sunday.

The 2021 Gold Cup-winning rider broke a clavicle for a fourth time since 2019 when getting brought down in a dramatic first-flight incident at Downpatrick last month. Nearly three weeks will have passed since the fall, but his recuperation will take a little longer.

"I'm feeling good now and hopefully it won't be too long before I'm back, but I'll just miss Listowel," he said on Thursday.

Kennedy has 33 Grade 1s on an already illustrious CV but the Kerry National has been one of the few major prizes in Irish racing that has eluded Kennedy. He looked set to ride 10-1 shot Hurricane Georgie in the week's feature on Wednesday.

He added: "It's a bit of a downer alright but that's just the way it goes unfortunately. I'll be back just after it, all being well, and hopefully we'll continue where we left off."

The 23-year-old picked up the injury when he was brought down on the Gordon Elliott-trained Nonbinding in the 2m3f maiden hurdle, in a chaotic incident in which eight of the 15 runners crashed out at the first - an event reminiscent of Foinavon's 1967 Grand National, when a loose horse caused a massive pile up at the 23rd fence.

Kennedy and Nonbinding were towards the front of the pack before the carnage unfolded, and were one of seven brought down by the fall of Mac's Xpress.

Felix Desjy and Jack Kennedy winning at this year's Punchestown festivalCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"It was a crazy incident but unfortunately these things happen," Kennedy said of the episode.

His latest break adds to a catalogue of injuries that began at Downpatrick in September 2016 when fracturing his right fibula, and he suffered a recurrence of that injury the following month at Thurles.

He then broke his left femur at Punchestown in May 2017, which led to three months off, before he broke his right femur in February 2020 following a fall from Dallas Des Pictons at the Dublin Racing Festival, which ruled him out for seven months.

He also damaged ribs at Roscommon in August of last year, as well as dislocating a shoulder at Navan in early November, so has endured more than his fair share of misfortune.

Hurricane Georgie: a leading player in next Wednesday's Kerry NationalCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Kennedy's fellow County Kerry native Philip Enright is another rider who looks set to miss the seven-day festival at Listowel, as he recovers from a dislocated knee cap he picked up at Tramore on August 14.

Enright came down in a crashing fall from Trouble And Strife at the second-last in the 2m5f beginners' chase, and is unlikely to be back riding next week.

He said: "I'm feeling grand and I'm just trying to get back going now. I'll probably be pushing to get back next week, so it'll likely be after Listowel when I'm back fully operating."

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