Nobody needs to convince me about the courage of jump jockeys. My first friend in the sport was Jeff King, a man who would rather pull out his own teeth than admit to pain. Latterly, the entire career of Tony McCoy has been an instruction in stoicism.
It is right to feel inspired by the hardiness of such men, to admire the fact they would rather ride in pain than not ride at all. When applied to Brian Toomey, and his determination to return to the life that almost killed him, that admiration extends to awe — shock and awe.
Toomey, 25, suffered horrifying head injuries in a fall at Perth 14 months ago. He was in an induced coma for a fortnight and the bleeding on his brain was so severe that he had a section of his skull cut away. Doctors gave him only a small chance of surviving. Now, Toomey is about to start the process of reapplying for his race-riding licence. Jerry Hill, newly appointed chief medical adviser of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), will consider Toomey’s case when he begins the role tomorrow.
Hill will be cognisant of the motivational element of Toomey’s target and that it has undoubtedly assisted his remarkable progress. However, he must proceed with a prescribed two-stage process, the second of which crucially involves reports from all the medical team that treated him last year.
The jump-jockey gene, that mindset of refusing to accept a red light, is not a new phenomenon. Richard Dunwoody spent years resisting, then resenting his enforced retirement through a chronic neck injury. McCoy admits to living in dread of being told he is not fit to continue riding.
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The case of Toomey, though, is different because his injuries were to the head, the brain, and were of such a gruesome nature they had a serious effect on all those close to him.
At York, a fortnight ago, Amy Ryan spoke of her own inner turmoil about returning to ride after heavy falls last year. Tellingly, though, she said: “It wasn’t so much my own injuries that made me doubtful but what I was seeing around me at the time.”
Ryan was Toomey’s girlfriend. She was at his bedside through the worst days, the days when getting back on a horse was far from the priority list. What she witnessed made her question her own future, let alone his.
Last December, speaking to the Limerick Leader, regional newspaper of his homeland, Toomey said: “I would love to get back to my job but I won’t be allowed because there is so much insurance involved. I will never be allowed back.”
Somehow, whether through steady recovery or well-meaning support, his mind has been changed. He has been deemed fit to drive again, a significant step. He has also undergone a series of neurological tests. He has been riding out at the Yorkshire yard of Brian Ellison.
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Good on him. My hope is that he finds a fulfilling job dealing with horses, riding them at exercise. Yet I cannot share his overriding wish for a return to racing. Toomey has been to the brink and back. It is for the BHA to put sentiment and romance aside and act rationally, in the best interests of the man and his sport.
Enough is enough, says Johnston
Of all the views expressed by leading trainers in opposition to Newcastle’s conversion to an all-weather track, none resounds louder than that of Mark Johnston.
As he trains the biggest string in the north of England, Johnston is a key figure in the venture. Yet he has called the plan to tear up the turf Flat course “a travesty” and added: “While I appreciate there is a need for an all-weather track in the north, I would rather do without it than see that happen.”
Arena Racing Company (ARC), owner of Newcastle, has responded to the criticisms through Tony Kelly, the managing director. The plan was debated by the board of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) yesterday and announcements are expected today.
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Johnston stood down this year from that board and Kelly admitted, wryly: “I have read his objections and I’m glad he is no longer a BHA director.”
ARC acquired seven jumps fixtures from Towcester yesterday but it is its core product of all-weather racing for which Johnston reserved his most coruscating remarks. “I have no desire to see any expansion of all-weather racing,” he said. “We are boring our customers and doing untold damage to the sport with drab, uninteresting, poor quality racing.
We don’t want any more of it.”