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Nicky Richards on the mend after horror fall and reveals terrifying hospital visit in the middle of coronavirus crisis

, Nicky Richards on the mend after horror fall and reveals terrifying hospital visit in the middle of coronavirus crisis

POPULAR trainer Nicky Richards is on the mend after a horror fall earlier this month.

But the 64-year-old spoke of his terrifying experience at hospital in Carlisle as the nation continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

Nicky Richards suffered serious injuries in a fall earlier this month

Cumbria-based Richards, who enjoyed some golden days with superstar chaser Monet’s Garden, is currently recovering at home with his family.

He regularly rides out on his gallops at the Greystoke Castle estate in the Lake District, and his string were heading back to the stable when a horse got loose.

Richards told Sun Racing: “It was a freak accident. We were coming back down through the parks after a routine canter.

“Everything was grand and I was just thinking these horses are in some form. I was saying to myself we would have some spring campaign.

“Next thing, one got bucked off half-way back through the string and that came belting down past us.

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“There is a cattle grid at the entrance to the parks which we go through to get to the gallops, and usually if they get loose they stop there.

“But this one decided to jump the cattle grid and was heading down into the village. So I got my phone out and I was trying to ring the lads down in the yard, and then another one came bucking and kicking past me with the rider on.

“That set my horse off, he gave a great buck and a squeal and a kick out, and in that situation you want to have both hands on the wheel if you’re going to have much chance of staying on. So that was me chucked off.

“I broke my shoulder and five ribs. They think my shoulder popped out and back in, but that’s not too bad, I’ve been down that road plenty of times before. But if you could see me whining on to me partner here you’d think ‘you soft sod you’!”

 

That was just the start of Richards’ ordeal, as he was rushed to hospital with the country in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis.

He continued: “There is a lot worse out there in the world at the moment than me, it’s a bloody horror.

“I wanted to come back home that night but they wouldn’t let me, I had to stay in overnight because they wanted to give me pain blocking injections in the back.

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“It was scary in there I tell you. You wouldn’t believe the nurses, the girls and lads in hospital are superheroes. It has got to be playing with their mind what is going on at the minute.

“At the end of my ward you could see out into the corridor, and I was lying in bed when I heard this trolley coming down.

, Nicky Richards on the mend after horror fall and reveals terrifying hospital visit in the middle of coronavirus crisis
Richards is recovering at home with his family

“I looked up and it had a big plastic tent over it. In front there was a guy with a spacesuit on and behind there was a fella with a spacesuit on pushing it.

“He looked at me and I looked at him, and I’d say we thought exactly the same thing. We are getting out of here.

“Fair play to the nurse, she said to me, ‘Nicky, if you can get out of bed and have a walk up and down and show everybody that you’re moving, they will let you out’.

“So every ten minutes I was out of bed, up and down, up and down. It’s scary when you see that kind of thing.

“In normal times I would probably have stayed in for a few days. I’m due to go back on Tuesday for a check up which I’m not looking forward to. You have just got to take your hat off to the health workers.”

 

With plenty of uncertainty about when racing in the UK can resume, Richards called on the industry to pull together.

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He said: “We are dealing with something that no one has experienced before, it’s all very uncertain and there isn’t much light at the end of the tunnel at the moment.

“We have just got to keep our heads down and be sensible and try and be positive and hopefully we all come out of the other end healthy and well. Everybody has got to try and help each other in this situation.

“The spring is my time of year, always has been. Ayr and Perth and Aintree, I had a good load of horses just getting primed up for the job.

“But you’ve got to feel for these Flat trainers with sharp two-year-olds, like young Archie Watson, they’ll be pulling their hair out because this is their time of year.

“It is tough for a lot of people in racing, but there are bigger things in the world going on right now.”

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