Jockey defies medical odds to ride again

JUMP jockey Brian Toomey hopes to resume his career, one year after he suffered life-threatening head injuries in a fall and given little chance of survival.
Jump jockey Brian Toomey. Picture: Tony BartholomewJump jockey Brian Toomey. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Jump jockey Brian Toomey. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

The North Yorkshire rider, who was given a one in 60 chance of making a recovery by his neurosurgeon, hopes to resume riding out next month – Friday is the first anniversary of his fall – before applying for his licence to be renewed by the British Horseracing Authority.

In an exclusive interview with The Yorkshire Post, Toomey speaks about his personal willpower – “never give up” – and speaks about his reunion with the medical team who saved his life. “Without them, I would be dead.”

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