3 minute read

Jordan Gainford will ride King George winner Hewick in the Cheltenham Gold Cup next week.

Jordan Gainford, who rode Hewick to victory in the Galway Plate and American Grand National in 2022, has struggled with injury and has not been aboard the Shark Hanlon-trained gelding since a fall two-out in last year's Gold Cup. He suffered damaged vertebrae in a fall in mid-December and returned to the plate at the end of February, riding two winners over the weekend at Leopardstown.

It will be a disappointment to jockey Gavin Sheehan, who picked up the plum ride aboard Hewick in the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park and steered the gelding to a historic victory.

Hanlon confirmed: "Jordan is going to ride the horse. I spoke to Gavin last night to tell him, he's done nothing wrong and gave the horse a great ride (at Kempton) and he might ride him again one day.

"But Jordan is back and has ridden a couple of winners and in fairness he made the horse for me, so I think it would be only manners to let him ride him next week.

"He was down here yesterday to sit on the horse and at that stage he didn't know if he was riding the horse or not, but he came down and schooled him. I told him the story, I said we'd have to wait and see and in fairness to him he came down and rode the horse twice in the last week.

"Jordan knows the horse well, the horse travels well for him and I'm delighted to have him on board."