Amputee rides again
A former British army captain who lost his leg from the knee down in Afghanistan will become the first amputee jockey to ride over the famous Grand National fences.
Guy Disney, who lost the lower part of his right leg when the vehicle he was travelling in was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in July 2009, will ride Gallery Exhibition in the Foxhunters Chase on April 12.
The 35-year-old ex-soldier, who rides with a prosthetic lower right leg, will be the first amputee jockey to ride over the big fences at the iconic Aintree course.
In 2017, Disney became the first amputee jockey to win at a professional racecourse in Britain when he rode Rathlin Rose to victory in the Royal Artillery Gold Cup at Sandown.
Ironically, Disney rode the same horse to victory in the 2018 edition of the Royal Artillery Gold Cup back in February.
Disney had ridden in point-topoint races for amateur riders before losing his leg.
Gallery Exhibition’s trainer Kim Bailey told The Jockey Club’s Love The Jumps podcast it will be an extraordinary feat for Disney to ride over the Grand National fences.
‘‘When he was lying in hospital, all he wanted to do was ride in a race and get back in the saddle and that was his ultimate dream,’’ Bailey said.
‘‘We all thought he had no chance really. And he then rode in a charity race and finished second.
‘‘Everyone has a dream, everyone has a wish to do something in life and this is Guy’s really.
‘‘‘He wants more than anything else to ride around those fences,’’ Bailey said.