'He's just unbelievable' - Gordon Elliott heaps praise on Jack Kennedy after sending out Royal Bond 1-2

We probably didn't see another Istabraq, Moscow Flyer or Hurricane Fly, but the latest inductee into the revered Royal Bond roll of honour is a fast-improving young horse with a bright future over further. The man on his back might have a future too. 

Jack Kennedy went on to produce a masterclass on Teahupoo in the Hatton's Grace, but he was also at his very best as he won on Farren Glory, a ride that earned effusive praise from trainer Gordon Elliott. 

Kennedy looked in deep trouble on the winner in between the final two flights, but got him rolling again coming down to the last and snatched the crown from stablemate King Of Kingsfield's head inside the final 100 yards. It was Kennedy doing Kennedy things. We expect nothing less these days. 

"He's unbelievable," Gordon Elliott said of his stable jockey afterwards. "There is only one winning line and Jack always seems to know where it is. He's riding out of his skin."

It may have looked as though Farren Glory was in a spot of bother when King Of Kingsfield swooped down the outside, but Kennedy was never worried. 

When asked whether there were a few strides when he felt his lesser-fancied stablemate might have his measure, Kennedy replied with an emphatic "no".

Farren Glory and Jack Kennedy return after the Royal BondCredit: Patrick McCann

He added: "My lad missed the last, but I know the other lad [King Of Kingsfield] well and I was happy it was him in front of me and not something else as he wouldn't be the best of finishers. My lad was very good."

Farren Glory was Elliott's fourth Royal Bond winner, following in the footsteps of Mengli Khan (2017), Envoi Allen (2019) and Ballyadam (2020), and it will be interesting to see whether his latest turns out to be more of an Envoi Allen or a Mengli Khan. 

Elliott said of the 11-2 winner: "It turned into a bit of a slog and that suited him. Jack picked him and, to be honest, I wasn’t sure he was on the right one. 

"He’s going to have to improve again. I wouldn’t say it was the strongest Grade 1 ever run but, to be fair, a few things went wrong in Clonmel and he still won. We didn’t want to make the running again here so we were hoping for a bit of pace today. He settled in behind the leaders and it worked out brilliant."

Farren Glory could be on his way over to England for his next outing. 

Elliott said: "Leopardstown might not be the track for him so I wouldn’t be shocked if we travelled over to Britain for one of those Grade 1s but nothing is set in stone yet."

The runner-up remains a maiden over hurdles and Elliott added: "Jordan [Gainford] was kicking himself and said he got there too soon. He'll be a short price in a maiden hurdle the next time!"

It will be Grade 1s for the rest of the campaign for Farren Glory, whose winning owner Niall Earls is chief executive of Easyfix, the company which makes hurdles and fences. 

Earls has a good hurdler on his hands in Farren Glory and might just have a very good chaser too further own the line. For now, he is a 25-1 shot for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and 33-1 for the Ballymore with Boylesports.

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