Geraghty To Miss Cheltenham

Jockey Barry Geraghty was dealt a blow on Sunday evening with the news that he is set to miss the Cheltenham Festival which kicks off Mar. 14. The 37-year-old got a fall off Charlie Parcs (Fr) (Anabaa Blue {GB}), owned by his boss JP McManus, at Kempton on Saturday following which he was brought to hospital with suspected rib injuries. However his plight was more severe than originally thought with further examination revealing six broken ribs and a collapsed lung. Geraghty had been reasonably optimistic of being back in time for the four-day jumping bonanza where he had any number of high profile rides lined up. These included the likes of Unowhatimeanharry (GB) (Sir Harry Lewis) in the G1 Stayers Hurdle, Buveur D'Air (Fr) (Crillon {Fr}) or Yanworth (GB) (Norse Dancer {Ire}) in the G1 Champion Hurdle and a choice of mounts in the G1 Cheltenham Gold Cup.