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Fehily Absence Not Such a Bad Break
02/12/10
It looked pretty grim for ‘jockey of the moment’ Noel Fehily when he took a heavy fall from Rivaliste on the day before the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury last week, with first horse racing Ireland reports suggesting that the Irishman’s wrist had been broken and that he would be absent for some time, writes Elliot Slater.
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Fehily had stepped into the hot seat as first jockey to champion trainer Paul Nicholls that had been temporarily vacated by Nicholls’ long-time stable jockey Ruby Walsh, after he sustained a broken leg in a fall at Down Royal last month, only an hour after partnering the great Kauto Star to victory in the JNWines.com Chase. Walsh remains out of action and is not due back until late-January, at the earliest.
On assuming the short-term role in place of Walsh, Fehily had quickly shown what a fine jockey he is and had partnered a string of high profile winners for Nicholls, including on Master Minded in the Amlin 1965 Chase at Ascot. The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time, but now it appears that it is not as bad as had been first feared. Having undergone a series of investigations, it seems that Fehily has sustained a dislocated wrist and that there are no broken bones, so with the injury healing well the former stable jockey to Charlie Mann is hoping to be back in the saddle for the next Cheltenham fixture on December 10 & 11.
In a way, irish racing tips suggest that the Arctic weather which has swept across Britain and forced the abandonment of most jump racing has done Fehily a favour, with no other jockeys having the opportunity to establish themselves in his place. The likeable Irishman should have at least another month to prove to the wider racing public just how good a horseman he is – before Ruby returns and it is business as usual.
