Jack Kennedy’s drive for a first jockeys’ championship continued unabated over the weekend as he brought his tally for the season to 78 winners, a personal best. Last season, he notched up 77 winners before injury intervened and this time, five winners over two days sees him lead Paul Townend by 24 winners heading to Punchestown on Tuesday (tomorrow). Gordon Elliott is undoubtedly the trainer to side with at Navan and he saddled four winners at the track on Saturday with Kennedy, Carl Millar and Patrick Mullins sharing the success. Kennedy landed an early double when winning the opening maiden hurdles in clearcut fashion. He partnered 5/2 chance Jigoro to land the Mervyn Gray Construction Maiden Hurdle in the colours of Bective Stud, the four-year-old winning by an easy nine lengths from Tom Cooper’s Butcher Hollow. The Headfort Arms Hotel Maiden Hurdle went the way of Caldwell Potter, the 8/13 favourite, which completed the Kennedy double and gave Elliott his second winner of the afternoon. The five-year-old went clear between the final two hurdles to beat Henry de Bromhead’s Gorgeous Tom by seven lengths.
At Cork on Sunday, Jack Kennedy won the first three races on the card. He kicked off with success on the Joseph O'Brien-trained Harsh in the opening three-year-old maiden hurdle. The Gigginstown House Stud-owned 2/5 favourite was well on top as he scored by eight lengths from the 7/2 chance Evening’s Empire. Kennedy followed up straight away on the Gordon Elliott-trained No Time To Wait in the two-mile one-furlong maiden hurdle. A 3/1 shot, the five-year-old led at the third-last hurdle and despite a mistake at the next and a less than fluent leap a the last, he came home a six-length winner from the Liam Burke-trained Teuchters Glory. A bigger win came the way of both men as 7/4 favourite Search For Glory took the Grade 3 Singletons Supervalu Stayers Novice Hurdle over three miles. The Gigginstown House Stud-owned six-year-old led before the penultimate hurdle to beat Enda Bolger’s Solitary Man by three lengths.
