Season’s end

By Caitriona Fenton

The Punchestown festival has finally come to an end and with it comes the conclusion of this year’s National Hunt season. And what a season it has been! We have witnessed Tony McCoy finally winning the Grand National, female jockeys grabbing the headlines and Willie Mullins obtaining a record breaking number of winners for a second year in a row. In the midst of all the great achievements and notable wins it is easy to forget the dangers of the racing game.

At this year’s ‘knees up’ (the annual end of season ball for jockeys), you would be forgiven for thinking that slings and crutches were the new fashion accessory! This is not a profession for the faint-hearted. This is a side to racing of which many people are not aware or which they tend to forget amidst the hype of big festivals.

Of course you would want to have been hiding under a rock during Punchestown not to have noticed that Ruby Walsh was injured, since he was relegated to the role of guest presenter following his crashing fall at Aintree, but the list of walking wounded is extensive. Some of those hurt even before Punchestown include Cork jockey Kevin Coleman who broke his collarbone at Naas, Paddy Flood who sustained a similar injury at Cheltenham and Niki O’Shea who dislocated his shoulder at Fairyhouse.

By the end of the festival there were a few more added to the list. Leading amateur Jamie Codd received a nasty injury when he suffered a tear to his liver following a fall in the opening race of the week. He is still recuperating in hospital.

Padraig Roche and Andrew Leigh, who both broke their wrists, were also in the wars, while Irish Grand National winning jockey Andrew McNamara and Matthew O’Connor were stood-down as a result of concussions, and Barry Geraghty and Paul Carberry were suffering from severe bruising. Hopefully, the start of the new season will be injury free, but it is hard to be too optimistic with the onset of fast ground and sharp summer tracks.

For those involved, the start of the summer season usually means long journeys to faraway places such as Sligo, Killarney, Kilbeggan and Downpatrick. The evening meetings entail late journeys home for the jockeys involved. Most jockeys would tell you that they do not relish the thought of driving through the bog roads of deepest, darkest Mayo on the way back from Ballinrobe.

With the beginning of the new season, the jockeys’ championship starts from scratch. Just as Paul Townend benefited from Ruby Walsh’s absence last week, Davy Russell (runner-up for the last two years) will be hoping to go a few winners clear of Ruby before his comeback. He should be worth following in the next couple of weeks. This past year Russell had 91 wins to Ruby’s 108 and both were well clear of Andrew McNamara, with 57 wins to his credit.

Meanwhile, the flat season is getting into full swing this weekend with the Guineas taking place at Newmarket. Fran Berry is leading the jockeys’ championship at this early stage. Having been promoted to stable jockey in John Oxx’s yard following the retirement of Mick Kinane, he may succeed in moving up two places from last year to top the table.

His main rival will be Johhny Murtagh who is backed by the powerful Aidan O’Brien stable. O’Brien’s horses have not yet started to shine but this weekend’s classic may kick-start their season, St. Nicholas Abbey being hot favourite.

By Caitriona Fenton