EXCLUSIVE Jody Townend enjoyed the greatest win of her blossoming career to date at Cheltenham last year as she fought back from a potentially career-ending injury with help from her legendary brother
Jody Townend knows the feeling of riding a winner at the Cheltenham Festival following her triumph last year and Willie Mullins’ amateur jockey is aiming for that joy again.
The 28-year-old is a five-time Champion Lady Amateur and has grown up in an environment that could only lead to success. The younger sister of four-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner and Mullins’ top jockey Paul Townend had the perfect mentor.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star Sport via Horse.Bet, Jody leaned on her brother’s experience as she made her name in the sport, something she has credited for giving her a step up to kickstart her career.
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
“We grew up on a farm here and it was always ponies, ponies, horses everywhere. It was great when I went first into the weigh room to have him there, riding different tracks, and if I needed any bit of advice, it was great to have him there.
“To have him there, someone with such experience, it was a great privilege and I was very lucky to have him.”
But her career was almost over before it began after she fractured her vertebrae during a riding accident in October 2018 that led to her missing action for nine months after her injury became infected.
Recalling her long road to recovery and the help she received along the way, Jody said: “At the time I thought I never was going to get back because I had a few setbacks in the recovery and it got infected. I just felt like I’d be put back on the sidelines again.
“But when I did get back I was very lucky that Willie put me straight back up and I was lucky I got to ride Great White Shark to win the big amateur handicap at the Galway Festival.
“It was all kind of forgotten about in a distant memory and the success wouldn’t be long making you forget about the pain.”
Thankfully Jody was able to recover and achieved her biggest win to date at the Cheltenham Festival last year when she rode Bambino Fever to victory in the Champion Bumper.
Reflecting on the joy of winning at the festival last year, Townend said: “Hard to put into words. If I’m having a bad day, it’s nice to go back and watch it. I’ll never forget.
“I remember when I pulled up at the top of the hill and Patrick (Mullins) told me just take it all in, and I tried my best. It’s magic walking down the chute and back into the parade ring, even though it was the bumper, the last race of the day, the atmosphere was still unbelievable.”