McCoy enjoys Ketchum spin
The Jonjo O’Neill trained gelding covered a circuit and a half of the course for McCoy, working with an unnamed stablemate ridden by Noel Fehily.
A crowd of around 100 people stayed behind to watch the work, with some breaking into applause as McCoy entered the pre-parade ring to mount Black Jack Ketchum.
It was the first time the 12-times champion jockey has been seen in racecourse action since sustaining a back injury in a crashing fall from Arnold Layne at Warwick on January 12.
The pair travelled upsides for most of the way but when the tempo quickened two furlongs out, it was Black Jack Ketchum who nudged ahead to win the gallop by a neck.
McCoy, who has been riding out regularly for O’Neill and Carl Llewellyn, faces an important date with the doctor on Thursday afternoon when he hopes he will be cleared to resume race riding ahead of the Cheltenham Festival.
The rider was upbeat when asked how he felt, adding: “I feel absolutely fine, although some days are better than others.
“This horse seems in good order and the main thing is that I am able to have a ride before the start of the Festival.”
O’Neill was pleased to see Black Jack Ketchum get his head in front in the spin and a crack at the Ladbrokes World Hurdle could now be on the cards.
The nine-year-old was last seen when pulled up at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day but O’Neill revealed a subsequent examination had uncovered a problem.
He said: “We found his neck, his backside and his tail were not quite right and we’ve given him plenty of time waiting for better ground.
“Tony was happy with him today and we’ll have to see what the ground is like, leaving our decision about the World Hurdle until as late as possible.
“I didn’t want to flog him into the ground if he wasn’t right but if we get good quick ground next week, I think he’ll run, otherwise we shall wait for Aintree.”
