Mackay gets go-ahead to ride after recovering from horror leg break

Nicky Mackay is chomping at the bit to return to the track next week after finally getting the all clear to resume race-riding following a horror leg break six months ago.

Mackay, 32, snapped his left femur and dislocated his knee at Chelmsford in March after being thrown from three-year-old maiden Royalistic when the pair veered right across the track on the home bend and smashed through the rail half a furlong out.

Frustratingly for Mackay, the injury came after he made a fast start to the year with his 13 winners nearly matching the 15 he achieved the season before.

However, following extensive rehabilitation and weeks honing his skills and fitness on the gallops, Mackay is ready to return and eager to make up for lost time.

“I’m cleared to ride from Tuesday and I’m more than ready now,” Mackay said. “The surgery couldn’t have gone any better and the recovery has been quite simple, but I’ve not wanted to rush back before I was 100 per cent.

“I was back in the saddle pretty quick, probably after about three and a half months, and then decided to give myself another month to get ready. I did that, but it turned out I needed a little more time. Now, though, I can’t wait to be racing again.”

An extra few weeks of recuperation and preparation were advised by the Injured Jockeys Fund, which has played a hugely important role this year for Mackay and his ex-rider father Allan, who was paralysed in a fall on the gallops in March.

Former jockey Allan Mackay suffered serious injuries in a fall on the Newmarket gallopsCredit: Alan Crowhurst

The assistance of the IJF prompted Jamie Mackay, Nicky’s brother, to return to the saddle for the Clipper Logistics Leger Legends Stakes – a race his father had ridden in before – having previously turned down the opportunity.

“Jamie said it was fantastic and a brilliant race to be involved with,” Nicky Mackay said. “The Injured Jockeys Fund has helped Dad ever since his fall and the support we’ve had from everyone there, and in racing in general, has been unbelievable.

“Dad was there on Wednesday in the paddock and he’s exactly like he was before – he’s just in a wheelchair. He’s never got down about it or complained, and the support we’ve all had has helped so much.”

Nicky Mackay breaks leg in Chelmsford fall

Jamie Mackay back in saddle for Leger Legends