The theme that Jack built

Kerry go into Sunday’s Allianz League final with a new coach, new selectors and a new attitude. Tony Leen looks at the changing face of the Kingdom.

SOME people will argue that part of the whole thrill of life is not knowing what lies just around the corner. Jump jockeys, who are a breed apart anyway, adhere to this creed. The six-letter word 'thrill' is one of the most often used in their vocabulary and while riding a tonne of horseflesh over eight flights of hurdles or 15 fences may be an unusual career choice for many, most jumps jockeys riding at Punchestown this afternoon will tell you that they do it purely for one thing: the thrill.

But, as racehorses are four-legged animals and not machines, accidents will occur.