JACK Kennedy knew it straight away. That horrible, hollow feeling.

As he lay under the shadow of the fence that faces away from the Naas enclosures, the dew on the grass soaking into him, he knew he’d broken his leg.

He knew it because unfortunately, it’s a physical feeling he knows all too well. This was the fifth time he’d broken his leg and yet again, all he could think about was everything he was going to miss. Irish Point in the Grade 1 Lawlor’s of Naas Novice Hurdle later on the card. The Dublin Racing Festival. Maybe Cheltenham? Maybe Aintree? Definitely becoming champion jockey for the first time.

The severe pain of a broken leg was inconsequential. Jumps jockeys have always been excellent adverts for mind over matter and for the top players, mental pain always outweighs physical pain. For Kennedy, this was the worst one yet.

“100%,” he confirmed this week. “I broke my leg at the Dublin Racing Festival a few years ago and I kind of knew for certain at that time that I was going to miss the Cheltenham Festival. That was tough but this one was by far the worst.

“I was leading the jockeys’ championship by 20. I know Paul (Townend) would have been very hard to beat either way but I had as good a chance as I’ve ever had. And obviously all the good rides that were coming up.

“It’s the first thing that hits you. I knew my leg was broken but you don’t even think about the physical pain really, it’s the mental side, knowing what you were going to be missing.

“There’s probably a few hours then when you’re getting pain relief and things that you don’t really care about a whole pile, and when all that wears off a couple of days later, that’s when it really brings the whole situation into focus”

And so ensued a remarkable few days that saw Davy Russell reach for the saddle and boots he had only hung up just three weeks before. The provision was that he was filling in for Jack until he came back. If that was before Cheltenham, so be it, he’d step away again.

That was the carrot for the Kerry native. Get back for Cheltenham. Get back for Mighty Potter, Delta Work, Teahupoo, Gerri Colombe and many more. Get into the trenches and work because those rides were so worth the pain and patience. As it transpired, it just wasn’t a simple equation.

“It was kind of an awkward break, not bad enough to need an operation,” he explains. “When I started back doing things, I didn’t have the stability that would have come with a bit of metal in the leg, that would have given you a bit more support, so I was kind of relying on the bone to heal naturally.

“To get back strong enough to ride I was doing my best and probably went through a lot more pain than I needed to. Looking back now, it was kind of never going to work but I suppose when you get something into your head, you’re not even thinking about it not working.

“It’s hard when you don’t know when you’ll be back but you’re thinking you might be able to effect that. I kind of started off trying to get as much in as I could most days but my leg probably wasn’t taking it as well.

“I cut it back to three days a week and that was going okay but I got to a certain point where the exercises and things started getting a bit more intense and I just wasn’t ready for it. I really tried my best to get back. Probably more so for Cheltenham and Aintree and when that wasn’t happening I probably didn’t push as hard for Punchestown. My leg just wasn’t able to take the work I needed to do.

Anytime I’ve been injured he has always come out and said the horses will be there when I get back.

“It’s a hard situation. I suppose you’ve good days and bad days. There were days there that I was coming home from rehab and I was thinking it’s great news and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and then you’d go up again and you’d be brought back to Earth fairly quickly.

“I’d like to give a mention to Eamonn O’Reilly, he did all the rehab with me and he was very good. We certainly did our best to be back and it wasn’t to be.”

Cartmel

Kennedy returned to action at possibly at Cartmel on a Sunday afternoon at the beginning of July and needless to say, it was pure relief. He has since posted 36 winners, a double at Thurles on Thursday propelling him to the top of the jockeys’ table.

The 30th of those winners was his 500th in all. It’s just another remarkable number in his career. At 24, he has 36 Grade 1 wins, 10 Cheltenham wins, and a Gold Cup win at the age of 21 (the youngest ever rider to win it).

And all of this has come in spite of five leg breaks and numerous other injuries. It is testament to his talent, but also the high regard in which he is held by Gordon Elliott.

Next year he’ll be 10 years at Cullentra, a central part of a tight knit team which has become a central component of his life. Elliott will always tell you how laid back he is, how nothing phases him and how it’s a struggle to even get him up to have a cup of tea on his breaks, that he’d be happy enough down with the rest of the team in the canteen, but that’s Kennedy.

“I probably am a bit laid back,” he says with a laugh. “There wouldn’t be a whole pile that would bother me. I’d have my days where I can get a bit hit up but it wouldn’t be too often.

“It probably helps to be that way as a jockey. I wouldn’t be much of an overthinker. Maybe I could do with putting a bit more thought into things. But I think I’ve a good balance. I don’t get too high when things are going good and so I suppose the lows are easier to take.

“There are some great people in Cullentra and everyone wants to do the best they can. The team is really close. It’s great to be a part of it and it’s growing all the time. Gordon has obviously been a huge help to me. Anytime I’ve been injured he has always come out and said the horses will be there when I get back. That is massive. It gives you something to work hard on to get back for, something to look forward to.

Kennedy winning the 2021 Gold Cup on Minella Indo \ Healy Racing

“All the rehab would be a lot harder to do wondering what you’re going to be riding when you come back and if you’re going to struggle for a while. I’m extremely lucky to not have to worry about those things.”

Needless to say, he had a real chance to be champion last season. In fact the bookmakers said it was more likely than not. He walked into Naas with 77 winners, a superb return. To put that into context, it was easily his best ever tally in eight seasons, despite him missing the last four months of the campaign.

“Being champion jockey never really was in my head until last year,” he says. “I suppose I kind of would always have been thinking about big winners and riding good quality horses but last year for the first time, I started thinking about it.

“I kind of went into the year with being champion as my aim. I rode as much as I could during the summer and had a great run, I think I could have had around 50 winners rode by Listowel. By Christmas then, I was thinking I had a good chance, but I got brought down to Earth fairly quickly then with the injury.

“Since I have come back I probably haven’t been riding as much and I haven’t had that aim, but it seems to be going well so far. I was trying hard enough last year but this year, if it happens, it happens and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Obviously Paul is going to be very hard to beat but if it was something that I could do, I’d be delighted.”

Top class

The top class horses are there for him. Gerri Colombe, Teahupoo, Irish Point, Conflated, Favori Du Champdou, Brighterdaysahead, Absolute Notions, Firefox are just some of the firepower getting readied in south west Meath.

“Gerri is probably the main one of the older horses,” Kennedy says. “It’s very exciting to have a staying chaser like him, with the profile he has. But we’ve got loads of nice young horses coming through as well, the bumper horses from last year - you’re hopeful they can step up when they get the chance.

“Everything is starting to kick up a gear so it’s a great time of the year. There seems to be a few nice ones there so fingers crossed.”

As it happens Kennedy is more than qualified to make a call on the latest generation of talent that comes into Cullentra, with plenty of them broken in at his and his brother Paddy’s pre-training base in Kildangan, where he also lives. The business, which was set up nearly four years ago, is growing nicely.

Paddy and Jack Kennedy are growing their pre-training operation in Kildangan \ carolinenorris.ie

“We’re going well, touch wood, and long may it last,” says Kennedy. “I think we’ve about 45 horses in so we’re very busy. We’ve some good people working for us as well.

“The majority are Gordon’s and owners that are sending their horses to Gordon’s. Paddy is more hands on with it. I would be busy at Gordon’s and going racing but I’ve a day off on Mondays so I work down here then. Hopefully we can keep growing it further.”

That’s working with horses 24:7 but he’d have it no other way. A son of Billy and Liz, Kennedy is the youngest of four boys and knew only racing. His gateway was pony racing and he grew up not far from the mecca of that unique sector in Dingle, winning the famous race itself in 2014 on Coola Boola.

Hailed as a local prodigy for that success, Kennedy has lived up to the hype since, which is no mean feat, but he is under no illusions as to how pony racing helped him get to where he is now.

“I know for a fact for me I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without it. It was a massive help to me and I’m sure there’s plenty of others who would say the same,” he asserts. “You learn how to ride a race and you make loads of mistakes but at least you’re doing it in a pony racing field and not when you’re trying to establish yourself as a jockey on the track. You’d know the difference from someone that’s done pony racing having their first ride and someone that hasn’t.

“It even helps you with talking to trainers and owners. I’m probably not the biggest talker myself but even doing interviews after you’ve ridden a winner in pony racing you get to learn about those things. The sector seems to have gone through a tough time but hopefully it can keep going, but it is very important for teaching aspiring riders.”

With the luck he’s due, Kennedy will get an injury-free run this season and can kick on. He deserves that chance. First and foremost that is the goal, but he never takes the success he has had for granted either.

“The way to look at it is there’s plenty of lads in the weigh room that would take the five broken legs and whatever else along the way to have the Grade 1 winners that I’ve ridden. A lot of people think I’ve been unlucky with injuries but I’ve also been very lucky to have those Grade 1 wins on my CV and to get on those good horses. Gordon has been brilliant to me in that way.

“Hopefully we can kick on and get a few more.”