Key meeting in Irish Jockeys’ Championship race as star riders Paul Townend and Jack Kennedy head to Wexford

Officials at Wexford are hoping there will be no repeat of last week’s called off card at the track with a six-race evening meeting scheduled to take place on Friday which could be pivotal in this season’s Irish Jockeys’ Championship…

Racing is set to get underway at 4:45pm with a maiden hurdle before rounding off at 7.20 with a 15-runner handicap chase on a card which sees jockey heavyweights Jack Kennedy and Paul Townend battle it out for supremacy.

The opener in the early evening sees 11 runners tackle the 2m4f maiden hurdle and Jim Setting Jim, a three-time bumper winner, makes his debut over hurdles for trainer John Queally. Up in trip, the seven-year-old also has the very high-profile jockey booking of Willie Mullins’ number one rider Paul Townend on board so is very much the one to beat.

Race two (5.20) is another 11 runner contest over the 2m4f distance around Wexford and the one to beat is Barrier for the top jockey/trainer combo of Jack Kennedy and Gordon Elliott, with the four-year-old returning to hurdling having placed over obstacles at Gowran Park and Naas earlier this year. Townend, vying for the Irish jockeys title with Kennedy, takes the ride on Denis Hogan’s Milanaway off the back of a respectable fourth of 14 at Fairyhouse in January.

The third race of the evening (5.50) is a seven-runner novice hurdle with jockey Kennedy set to ride Themanintheboots for his boss Elliott, with two wins from five runs this season for the six-year-old. Pipers Boreen, a second of 12 in a handicap hurdle at Leopardstown in February, provides the main threat here.

Wexford jockey JJ Slevin rides Monbeg Park in the seven-runner handicap chase over the 2m3f distance at 6.20, race four of the meeting. Slevin’s mount is making his debut over the bigger obstacles here at a track where there is less emphasis on jumping. Title-chasing Kennedy is on board Dundaniel, brought down when well placed at Limerick last time out and wears cheekpieces here for the first time. Another high profile jockey, Rachael Blackmore, rides in this race too aboard Spirit of Legend for trainer Henry de Bromhead.

The penultimate race on the card is the veterans handicap chase (6.50), with the ten-year-old’s and older tackling the 2m3f trip and six are set to head to post. Shadow Rider, for trainer Padraig Roche, looks the one to beat having switched to fences from hurdles following a solid second of nine in a Cork handicap last week.

Finally, the incredibly competitive card comes to a close with a 0-102 rated handicap chase over 3m1f, with a large field of 15 runners set to head to post at 7.20. The ultra consistent Fox Le Bel is taken to be amongst it once again but the selection here is He Fitz In for trainer Davy Fitzgerald, who landed a career best win when scoring in an eight-runner Limierck handicap 12 days ago.