LEADING Irish jockey Jack Kennedy will miss the Cheltenham Festival.
The rider suffered a broken leg when falling from Dallas Des Pictons in the big 2m5f handicap at Leopardstown on Sunday.
He picked up the injury just 30 minutes after guiding Delta Work to victory in the Irish Gold Cup.
Kennedy was attended to by racecourse medics and the fence was bypassed on the final circuit.
He was taken to St Vincents Hospital for an X-ray and further assessment on his right leg.
And an update from Dr Jennifer Pugh on the official IHRB Twitter feed on Monday evening confirmed the unfortunate news.
The Tweet read: Jack has had surgery on his leg this morning and thankfully that went well.
“Unfortunately at this stage the timing will mean Jack will miss Cheltenham.
Hopefully he should get home from hospital tomorrow.
Kennedy has enjoyed plenty of big-race success since he started riding for Gigginstown, including five Festival wins.
