Ryanair boss and racing fanatic Michael O'Leary has described Jack Kennedy as a "one in a generation talent" but also sounded caution due to the numerous injuries he has picked up.
Kennedy won the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Minella Indo and is widely regarded as one of the hottest young talents in the sport. He has however suffered numerous injuries and will miss this years event due to a broken leg he suffered in January.
Speaking to ITV O'Leary said, "I don't know whether his body will survive many more falls or breaks. He's had very cruel fortune.
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"I think Jack is a generation jockey, what he's achieved at such a young age. I hope he finds that way forward because he's a once in a generation talent".
Never one to mince his words O'Leary aimed shots at the recently un-retired Davy Russell. Russell, who rode two Aintree Grand National winners for O'Leary, decided to reverse his retirement decision before Christmas. The Ryanair boss believes he should not have returned and instead spent more time with his young family.
"[He's] a brilliant jockey as long as he wasn't messing around with his weight. We sacked him at the right time because he was messing with his weight. He proved us wrong, came back stronger than ever, and in recent years has been riding out of his skin.
"He’d retired and, personally, I wish he’d stayed retired. He has a young family with young children and at a certain point in time you should put your family first and not your riding career.
"When you get out at that age in your early 40s... You don’t bounce, you don’t mend the way you did before.
"Particularly if you’re married and you have children you put your family first. He’s had a glorious career and he has nothing to achieve by coming back and I don’t think he should’ve come out of retirement."
O'Leary also brushed off comments from Kennedy's fellow Kerryman Brian Cooper. Cooper had recently described him as "a very fair man" who "doesn't hold grudges". The Dublin-born businessmen replied by saying, "Honestly, I couldn't care less what people think of me, and I never have.
"Bryan's a great jockey, had a lot of success at a very young age. I'm not sure if he handled it very well. He needed to work harder, but he's learnt that lesson.
"The great thing in the last year or two is that Bryan's come back riding better than ever, working harder than ever before, and that's why he's back riding Gigginstown horses, and he's riding horses for Willie, Noel Meade and everybody else."
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