Jockey Leigh Roche will be on the sidelines for the race week closest to his heart following a fall at Down Royal on Friday night, which has left him with a broken collarbone that rules him out of the Galway festival.
The 26-year-old was partnering 33-1 shot Kodi Dream for trainer Adrian Keatley in the opening juvenile contest over five furlongs when he was unseated from his mount crossing the road just before the two-furlong marker, taking a heavy tumble.
Hailing from Tuam, County Galway - a little under 30 minutes away from Ballybrit - the rider closely associated with Dermot Weld will miss out on next week's seven-day extravaganza, with Roche describing the news as tough to take.
"It's very unfortunate," he said. "It could have been a whole lot worse but I had a great book of rides there next week and it's going to be a hard pill to swallow."
Roche explained of the incident: "The horse was on the road at the time and when he was coming back onto the grass he half second-guessed his step and reached for it, going out right. He dropped his shoulder and I went out to the left."
He added: "We were worried about my back initially last night but they've done x-rays on it since and thankfully it's grand. I got the all clear in that department, though it's sore at the moment."
