For readers unfamiliar with the name, Brian Toomey is a former National Hunt jockey, who finally retired from the saddle on June 14, 2016, but has recently made headlines by passing the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) required to be granted a training licence. Toomey rode 49 winners under National Hunt Rules in Britain, but his story is all the more remarkable for the fact that, on July 4, 2013, he was pronounced clinically dead for six seconds and, at one point, was given just a 3% chance of survival. On that day, his mount, Solway Dandy, fell heavily at the third-last flight in a conditional jockeys’ handicap at Perth and Toomey suffered a horrific head injury, which caused him to lose consciousness.
Thankfully, the promising young jockey was resuscitated by paramedics, but his injuries were so severe that he could not be airlifted from the racecourse. All told, Toomey spent 157 days in hospital, the first two weeks in an induced coma, and required surgery to remove part of his skull to reduce the swelling on his brain. Miraculously, against all odds, he regained his licence 704 days later and briefly resumed his riding career, although he later reflected that ‘ trainers and owners were just a bit too worried to give me an opportunity’.
Fast forward a decade or so from that fateful day in the Scottish Lowlands and Toomey, 34, is preparing to train, under a dual-purpose licence, in Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire. He told the ‘Racing Post’, ‘I got in touch with [recently retired trainer] Martin [Bosley], who invited me to look at the yard. When I did, I was blown away. It’s something special.’ He added, ‘I know it’s going to be very tough, but I’m also very determined. I just hope I haven’t used up all my luck.’