Hard-earned double for Jack Kennedy at Down Royal

Teenage sensation Jack Kennedy, who has not yet turned seventeen, registered his first wins as a 3lb. claimer when completing a hard-earned double on Steamboat Bill and Finea in Down Royal yesterday.

Kennedy, who has been race-riding for just nine months, lost his 5lb. claim when scoring on Woodford Island in Navan recently and he was seen at his strongest here when getting 5/4 favourite Steamboat Bill a battling, half-length winner over Stowaway Shark in the opening Sean Graham Bookmaker Maiden Hurdle.

Gordon Elliott’s charge needed plenty of driving from Kennedy, as the winning trainer acknowledged: “Jack was good and strong on him – he kept pushing and rowing away and he said the horse hated the ground. So I’d say we’ll give him a break and wait for some better ground. A step-up in trip should help him.”