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Horse racing jockey Nico de Boinville has shared his fears at not returning from the races, revealing the horrific accidents that can occur.
Having turned into a professional horse racer after winning his first Cheltenham Festival race in 2014, De Boinville has emerged victorious from numerous races, but it’s not been without injury.
Speaking in a new ITV docuseries, Champions: Full Gallop, he details the broken bones he’s suffered while warning: ‘You wouldn’t do it if you were thinking about the dangers.
‘That would probably stop you doing anything. You don’t think about the risk.
‘The injury side of it is part of the job. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.’
In a preview clip ahead of the programme’s launch on Friday, he reveals the shocking injuries he’s faced over the years, including a broken cheekbone, eye socket, collarbones, ribs, hand, thumbs, ankles and his arm.
Thinking ahead to his future in the sport, he adds: ‘I’m 34 now. How long you go on as a jockey, you know, you’re thinking 40 tops probably, so it’s that idea of you’re sacrificing now for later on.’
The ITV programme shares a look into De Boinville’s home life, including teaching his young children to ride.
He shares: ‘I don’t think it’s quite normal for young kids to put up with but they don’t know any different.
‘There have been times when I have fallen and they have seen, and they get quite upset by it.
‘So if I do fall, I try and pop back up so that if the camera is on me, then you’re okay.’
He adds: ‘Every time we go to the races, we could not be coming back that night. That’s the reality.’
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Earlier this year, De Boinville was forced to miss out on races after breaking his collarbone in a fall at Doncaster in December 2023.
He was riding The Therapist when he crashed out two flights from the finish, and sat out the rest of the card.
He later wrote about his injury, saying: ‘Unfortunately, I took a crunching fall on Therapist at Doncaster on Friday, and I will be out for a while.
‘I pretty much knew that it wasn’t a routine departure soon after I hit the deck, and an X-ray this morning confirmed that I had broken my clavicle.
‘It’s obviously annoying, with so many of our good horses looking to prove themselves in better races at this time of the year, as at Newbury today, but it’s only a small-scale setback in the grand scheme of things.
‘I don’t know exactly how long I will be out for at the moment, but I’ll just have to get my head down and concentrate on the recovery.
‘Others are in a far worse spot than me, so I won’t be feeling sorry for myself.’
Elsewhere in the six-part ITV series, viewers get a backstage pass into the lives of jockeys and trainers across the 2023-24 Jumps season.
As well as a fly on the wall view of the weighroom, and behind-the-scenes clips of racing, it also follows jockey Sean Bowen’s six-week recovery from an injury that would take a Premier League footballer 12 months after an injury at Aintree on Boxing Day last year.
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Champions: Full Gallop airs Friday, July 19th on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm.
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