Talking Horses: Toomey triumphs in his greatest battle despite Southwell defeat

Races don’t come much more unremarkable than a novices’ selling hurdle at Southwell, but for Brian Toomey, the North Yorkshire-based jockey who was technically dead for more than six seconds after a horrific fall at Perth in 2013, the lowly event marked the end of one of the most remarkable journeys in sport.

His mount, the odds-on favourite Kings Grey, was pulled up half-a-mile from home. It didn’t matter a jot. That Toomey was back in the saddle at all was a triumph of epic proportions given that doctors initially gave him less than a three per cent chance of survival, let alone returning to a state where he was able to resume his riding career.

To recap, Toomey was in an induced coma for more than a fortnight after a fall from Solway Dandy left him with significant swelling on the brain. His parents, Marian and Johnny, were instructed to travel from their home in County Limerick to say their farewells, but their son’s condition gradually improved to the point where he was able to be transferred to James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Even then, his situation remained grave, with doctors having to remove a substantial section of his skull in order to insert a metal plate that remains in position today. In total, he was in hospital for 157 nights. But even at that stage, he was plotting his return.

“It’s always been all I’ve ever wanted to do,” said Toomey, who has based himself at Carlton, near Stokesley, for the final stages of his recovery. “Even after everything that happened, the first thing I was talking about when I came round was when I could get back riding.

“Unless you’ve been involved in it, I don’t think you can appreciate that it’s a total way of life. Yes, you miss the thrill of riding a winner. But it’s more than that. It’s the craic with all the lads, the early mornings riding the horses on the gallops and the picking through the form to see how you’re going to ride a race. That’s what you really miss.

“We’re lucky as jockeys because we’re insured. If we have a life-threatening, career-ending injury, we get a big payout. That was my option. It would have been hundreds of thousands, but actually, it wasn’t really an option for me. Money doesn’t make you happy, does it? I just wanted to get back to doing what I love.”

Last May, we met at Sedgefield Racecourse to discuss Toomey’s desire to return to competitive action despite everything he had been through. He was passionate and determined, with a glint in his eye whenever his future ambitions were mentioned, but also realistic enough to accept that it would be hard to convince the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) to grant him a licence.

Ultimately, that process took the best part of a year. Medical specialists were employed to run a succession of scans and tests, and the horseracing community rallied to Toomey’s cause, offering him opportunities to return to work riding and quietly pushing his claims for a competitive return to the saddle.

Middleham trainer Philip Kirby, who provided Toomey with his comeback ride aboard Kings Grey, has been one of his strongest supporters, but the 26-year-old also returned to his native Ireland to work with champion trainer Willie Mullins as well as riding out for other prominent figures on the North Yorkshire scene.

Eventually, the BHA confirmed Toomey’s jockey’s licence, and on Sunday, he left the weighing room and walked into the paddock as a fully-fledged rider for the first time in a shade under two years.

“Being alive is a fairytale, let alone being back on a horse,” he said after dismounting following Kings Grey’s failure to finish. “On paper, I suppose I was a good thing, but the horse didn’t feel 100 per cent and I didn’t want to put him through hardship – I’ve had enough of that myself.”

Attention now turns to the future, and Toomey’s hopes of securing more regular rides as he looks to make the most of a second opportunity that had looked like an impossible dream.

Kirby is expected to offer further opportunities, with Toomey set to become a permanent part of the trainer’s Sharp Hill Farm yard.

“It’s important to remember that (Sunday) was never going to be just about the result,” Kirby wrote on his website this week. “This was the start of Brian’s career getting back on track, and it won’t be long before he rides his 50th winner, hopefully on one of our horses.”

Toomey is also hoping to pick up rides from other Middleham-based trainers, and is confident his death-defying past will not be a barrier to future successes.

“Some trainers might be worried about putting me up, and it is going to take a while to prove a point,” he said. “But I wouldn’t have got back unless I was 100 per cent fit.

“After a serious injury like that, I’ve had to pass tests with top doctors and neurosurgeons. If they can’t see a reason why I couldn’t come back, I don’t see why a trainer should.”

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THE Go Racing in Yorkshire Summer Festival begins at Ripon on Saturday, and will see nine of the county’s courses staging meetings over an eight-day period, which ends at Pontefract a week on Sunday.

Saturday’s meeting at Ripon features a seven-race card, which is due to start at 2.10pm, with the feature race the Ripon Bell Ringer Handicap Chase, a £25,000 contest over a mile-and-a-half.

As a new edition for this year’s Festival, there is also a stable visit to Richard Guest’s yard at Ingmanthorpe, near Wetherby, scheduled for next Tuesday at 3pm.

Visitors will be able to see horses on the gallops, meet Grand National winner Red Marauder, watch a series of demonstrations and take part in a question and answer session. They will then head to Wetherby Racecourse for the course’s evening meeting.

The full list of Summer Festival meetings is: Sat, July 18 Ripon; Sun July 19 Redcar; Mon, July 20 Beverley (eve); Tues, July 21 Wetherby (eve); Wed, July 22 Catterick; Thurs July 23 Doncaster (eve); Fri July 24 Thirsk; Fri July 24 York (eve); Sat July 25 York; Sun July 26 Pontefract.