George Baker’s recovery going well following Swiss brain bleed scare in February

GEORGE BAKER was in good spirits at Goodwood on Sunday as he returned to a racecourse for the first time since suffering a bleed on the brain in a horror fall on the ice at St Moritz in February.

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The jockey, who won the St Leger last September on Harbour Law, was riding Boomerang Bob for Jamie Osborne on the frozen lake track when the horse was brought down and fatally injured.

After being airlifted to a trauma hospital in Chur, an MRI scan confirmed he had suffered bleeding on the brain.

Baker reported his rehabilitation to be going well and is expecting to make an appearance at Royal Ascot later in the month.

He told Racing UK: “The recovery is going very well, as well as can be expected. I’m getting there, making plenty of progress.

“I’m a little bit wobbly on my feet still, but I’m making progress, so it’s great.

“I’m going to go to Royal Ascot for one day for sure, and I thought I’d better come racing and see how I get on, do something out of my comfort zone.”

He added: “Racing has been very kind to me going through a bad period, everyone has been very friendly.

“I’ve been very lucky with my career, but these things happen and you have to deal with them when they come along and I’m lucky that my recovery is going well.”

Looking to the future and the question of possibly riding again one day, he said: “As it stands I’m not allowed to drive for a year, so I won’t be able to do anything for that period of time.

“It is obviously something I’d like to do, but I just don’t know is medically possible at the moment. I haven’t found out about it yet, we’ll have to see what happens.

“I love horse racing. I’ve kept an eye on it and I’m very lucky that everyone I’ve dealt with in the past has kept me in the loop, so I’m still aware of what’s going on and I enjoy watching it.”