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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Melissa Jones

Jockey breaks both arms in freak fall - 'You don't know how much you need them!'

A jockey who broke both of his arms in a fall has detailed how the freak accident happened.

Cillin Leonard spent four months recovering from the injuries he suffered at Fontwell last October. The conditional rider was unseated from his mount when another runner fell in a three-horse pile-up.

"I broke my two arms, so I was out for four months," said Leonard after winning on Rostello at Southwell on Monday.

"(It was at) Fontwell, the end of October. The horse in front of me kicked – and broke them with the kick. I made a mess of the two of them anyway.

"I'd say I was (in agony). I can't remember a thing, I was drugged up to the max."

On his second ride back from injury, Leonard partnered the Dr Richard Newland-trained Rostello to a 14-length win in the Daily Charged Up Offers At Rhino.Bet Handicap Chase.

The front runner had too much pace for his six rivals at the East Midlands circuit, in a retained change of headgear. Rostello was well clear when he jumped boldly for Leonard at the final fence of 19, in a race only three horses completed.

Leonard was in good spirits after getting the ideal result on the eight-year-old chaser who is also owned by Worcestershire-based Dr Newland.

Cillin Leonard riding in a race over hurdles (Getty)

"You don't know how much you need them!" Leonard said about his arms in an interview with At The Races.

"It's great to be back on this lad. He has run a fantastic race, he has run away with me the whole race and we just galloped them to the ground. He has done it before with me around Stratford, around Huntingdon – he runs like that and I get a nice tune out of him so I'm very thankful to Richard for putting me back up.

"A massive thank you to Oaksey House (Injured Jockeys Fund rehabilitation centre) for getting me this far. I was there for two months and I don't have enough good words to say about them. Those days where you think it's not going to happen, they reassure you. It's a great place to be."

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