TONY McCOY, who had hoped to return to race-riding on Monday after breaking his right arm in mid-June, must sit out a further three weeks, having accepted the advice of his specialist that the bone is not yet strong enough to survive a further fall.
It is a frustrating blow to McCoy, who has already fallen seven winners behind Richard Johnson in the jump jockeys’ championship, but he has sensibly decided to avoid unnecessary risk. “I met with Dr Michael Foy today and he is happy with my progress,” he said. “But I have said all along I won’t return until it is 100 per cent and he told me it would be wise to give it another three weeks.”
A meeting of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) at Goodwood yesterday backed Hamilton Park’s appeal against the loss of its traditional Fair Friday fixture in the revamped list for 2004.
Peter Savill, chairman of the BHB, said: “We discussed it at length and decided the fixture was date-sensitive and historically significant.” Hamilton must now apply to the Levy Board to receive funding for the fixture.