Barry Geraghty ruled out of Cheltenham Festival after Kempton fall

Barry Geraghty has twice been Cheltenham Festival top jockey, in 2003 and 2012

Jockey Barry Geraghty has been ruled out of the Cheltenham Festival after sustaining injuries in a heavy fall at Kempton on Saturday.

The 37-year-old punctured a lung and broke six ribs in a fall from odds-on favourite Charli Parcs in the Adonis Juvenile Hurdle.

"I'm obviously devastated to miss the Festival," Geraghty told At The Races.

"There were so many good horses to look forward to as JP McManus' team all look in particularly good shape."

The Irishman said the evening of the fall had been "pretty rough".

"I've broken ribs individually before but never had six go all at the same time," he added.

"I'll be in hospital for a few more days but once the lung improves my recovery should be straightforward."

Geraghty tweeted on Monday morning and admitted he was having a tough time

The jockey has ridden at least one winner at each of the past 15 stagings of the Cheltenham Festival, and is second on the top Festival jockeys' list on 34 wins, 18 behind Ruby Walsh.

He was due to ride a string of big-name horses owned by McManus, including hurdlers Unowhatimeanharry and Yanworth.

Geraghty needs a drain to remove liquid from a punctured lung, but hopes to be back in time for Aintree in April.

Geraghty won on the Alan King-trained River Frost in the JP McManus colours earlier in the day before his fall

Analysis

BBC Sport horse racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght.

After a whole lot of four-legged stars were ruled out of Cheltenham, now a major two-legged casualty.

With major Festival wins on big-name runners like Moscow Flyer, Kicking King, Bobs Worth, Sprinter Sacre, Jezki and More Of That, Geraghty is one of the fixture's most reliable and consistent performers of recent years.

And he's that rarity, a jockey who's lifted all of the fixture's 'Big 4' trophies - the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, Stayers Hurdle and Gold Cup - more than once.

McManus' number two jockey Mark Walsh is set to be the main beneficiary of Geraghty's misfortune.