I broke my back and sternum last month, but can’t wait to ride again
Jamie Moore is recovering quickly from a nasty fall at Fontwell which left him with a broken back and sternum.
The Sussex jockey can’t wait to get back in the saddle and has paid tribute to all those who have helped him since the accident on August 18.
West Sussex-based Moore was flung off the John Bridger-trained Alka Step.
“It was quite weird,” he told us. “I’ve broken 26 bones, so you know when you’re injured and I was lying on the floor and my whole body went pins and needles straight away and I thought ‘I’m in trouble’. But then I moved my legs and I thought ‘well that’s okay, I can move my legs’.
“Every time I was breathing, my sternum was clicking, so I said to the doctors ‘look – I’ve broken my sternum and I’m pretty sure I’ve broken my back. Can you take me to the Brighton hospital – instead of going to Chichester – so I can be closer to my family?’ ”
Talking about his rehab Moore said: “I’m on the bike, I’m swimming, gentle jogging, plenty of core work so it’s going well.
“The hospital were absolutely brilliant and they couldn’t have done any more for me. I just wanted to walk out of there and then kick on.
“After two weeks, I was on a bike, and swimming, in the gym, walking around the yard – doing my best. I go to the gym down the road from my house and I’ve just done a couple of days in Newmarket at Peter O’sullevan House.
“I go up there every week – two or three days on the bounce – then go back home.”
The remarkable timescale for his recovery is partly thanks to the incredible facilities jockeys are provided with by the Injured Jockeys’ Fund. “It’s a massive help. All credit to the IJF,” said Moore.
“They’re absolutely phenomenal places to help jockeys like myself .”
You’d think riding would be far from his mind, but these guys are made of tough stuff. “I’ve got to get back. We’ve got lovely horses in my dad’s yard to ride and I can’t wait to get back,” Moore said.
“I hate sitting around, I like to be busy and doing physical stuff. I put pain to the back of my mind. I’d like to think I’ll be back in November.”
NICHOLAS O’LEARY