Brooke scores on second ride back from serious neck injury

Henry Brooke thanked Jack Berry House and reflected on his positive return to the saddle this week, during which he scored on his second ride since breaking three vertebrae in his neck in a schooling fall.

The 30-year-old felt he was being "soft" by giving up his rides and driving himself to hospital after the incident at Oliver Greenall's yard in Cheshire in November, which came close to leaving him paralysed.

Brooke returned to action at Carlisle on Tuesday and, after finishing sixth on his first ride, he scored with the Mark Walford-trained Miss Amelia, who finished clear of Pistol Park in the 2m handicap chase.

The jockey was not expected to return until March and praised the team at Jack Berry House rehabilitation centre, as well as the BHA's chief medical officer Dr Jerry Hill, for facilitating his swift comeback.

Henry Brooke: won the 2019 Fighting Fifth Hurdle with Cornerstone LadCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Brooke said: "It's always daunting when you come back from an injury and you hope you can return in similar form to when you last rode – so it was a relief to get a winner. It's great to be supported by trainers who gave me good rides off the bat.

"It's definitely been the hardest recovery I've had from an injury and everyone at Jack Berry House was great, as well as Dr Jerry Hill. He put me in touch with brilliant people and my recovery went well. There isn't a jockey in the weighing room who isn't grateful to him."

Brooke's latest injury came a little more than four years after he had to be placed into an induced coma after a fall at Hexham left him with a punctured lung, internal bleeding and multiple rib fractures.

The jockey, who was champion conditional in 2011-12, won his first Grade 1 on Cornerstone Lad in the 2019 Fighting Fifth. He is also a dual winner of the Grade 2 Rendlesham Hurdle, having scored on Across The Bay in 2013 and Shades Of Midnight in 2019.

Read more:

Irish channel TG4 announces significant increase in racing coverage

Liam Jones to return after overcoming serious injuries

HRI approves €1 million fund to assist tracks with stabling capacity

Join Members' Club Ultimate and read tipping from the likes of Pricewise and Paul Kealy, all the big interviews and features, daily comment and news analysis - plus our Ultimate Daily newsletter. Click here to sign up.