So after five broken legs and more heartbreak than Gone with the Wind, Jack Kennedy, just days after his 25th birthday, finally claimed the Holy Grail – ending Paul Townend’s six straight years as Ireland’s Champion Jump Jockey.
Saturday couldn't have been easy, having to sit 'in the clubhouse' as it were, going into the final day of the season at Punchestown leading Townend by four, but Willie Mullins’ stable jockey simply ran out of cards - by the time Lossiemouth duly won he had needed snookers.
The glorious Kingdom of Kerry has bred another champion, the same golden county that sent Oisin Murphy out into the world. They breed them young - Jack is from Dingle where they put them on ponies more or less as soon as they can walk, and it was in 2017 on that character Labaik at Cheltenham he first hit the headlines.
Most memorable, though, his win on Minella Indo in the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup, while Gordon Elliott knew very much what he was doing when he made him first jockey at Cullentra. Only in recent years Jack’s time seems to have been spent between the yard, the winners' enclosure and various A&E departments which have forced him to miss more than his fair share of major meetings.
Townend will be back - that’s a certainty - but few will deny Kennedy his cherished prize.
Hard work, consummate skill and a warm personality have seen him make many friends, and his rides on Teahupoo in particular at Cheltenham and Punchestown have shown the class act, and winning mentality, to make a champion.
Sadly, he has a couple of lengthy suspensions coming up - but in congratulating the jockey on his perseverance being rewarded, he can now relax a bit, perhaps in his beloved Kingdom for whom he is an outstanding ambassador.
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