Ex-motocross star Harry Kimber zooms back into action after spell on sidelines

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The race is on again! Harry Kimber, who lies second in the standings among this season's conditional jockeys, returns to action this week after three weeks on the sidelines following a tumble on Boxing Day. Look out, Luca Morgan!

"I would have been completely fine," Kimber recalls of the incident that crocked him, speaking in that blase way used by jump jockeys when the subject is physical danger. "But the horse behind just galloped straight over the top of me and kicked me in the head and knocked me out for a good few minutes."

Ah. I was going to be fine until a half-tonne animal put my lights out. We've all been there. But actually, Kimber isn't finished.

"The main problem was, I had a small laceration to the spleen, which is what's kept me out for this long. But the scan shows it's all healing up well. I'm lucky it was only small. I'm pretty fortunate, really."

That's another thing about jockeys; their idea of what constitutes good luck is somewhat idiosyncratic. Kimber was fired up in the air when Premiumaccess belted a fence at Wincanton, he fell to earth, was immediately given a good shoeing by Sizable Sam, lost consciousness and suffered damage to an internal organ, but because he can get back to work within a month, he's counting his blessings.

Kimber is delighted with his 24 wins this season, which is double his previous best and way ahead of the expectations he held in summer. But this interruption at a busy point of the season has allowed Morgan to establish a lead of nine wins in the race to be champion conditional.

"Seeing horses win that I should have been on, it's been hard to watch," Kimber tells the Front Runner, "but I'll certainly do what I can and give it everything to try and close the gap. Whether it's realistic, I don't know, but we'll give it a bloody good go."

He was booked to make his comeback aboard Tip Top Mountain in the opener at Fontwell, but overnight rain made the track unraceable. He nows heads to Hereford to partner Lady Wilberry in the last race (4.10), which is a McCoy-esque manoeuvre and quite impressive from a claimer. It shows how well he's done in forging connections over the past couple of years.

His main employer is Joe Tizzard but Keiran Burke has also been a key supporter, providing him with nine winners this term. He has also had success on runners trained by Robert Walford, Bill Turner, Syd Hosie, Sheila Lewis, Seamus Mullins and Jackie Du Plessis.

Joe Tizzard: the Dorset trainer is Harry Kimber's main employerCredit: Edward Whitaker

"Joe gives me a lot of freedom to go and ride out and school for other people. He's been very supportive. The more you show your face, especially with new people, then they use you more.

"Keiran has supported me massively. And I've had a good bit of luck with my first rides for new yards. I'm extremely happy with how the season's gone."

Kimber has already had a highly successful career in a different kind of (also dangerous) racing. "I grew up doing motocross," he says, and you can see proof here. "I started when I was six years old and did it all through my childhood up till I was 16 or 17.

"I was extremely lucky, I got to race all over Europe. I did quite well and had a lot of support from big sponsors that helped me on my way."

Kimber grew up in the Somerset village of Henstridge, a very horsey part of the world, though he had neither interest nor knowledge during his years of schooling. But he regularly earned a bit of pocket money at a nearby pub, the Bird In Hand, setting up skittles in the skittle alley for customers.

"That's how I bumped into Colin Tizzard. He was always trying to persuade me to learn how to ride a horse and go work for him because he knew about my motocross and he quite liked the idea of trying to get me into being a jockey.

"I didn't listen to him for a few years and then when it came time to leave school at 16, I did one day at college, on a carpentry course, and didn't like it. I got my mum to pick me up halfway through the day.

"She asked me on the way home, what are you gonna do now? I said, Colin offered me a job. I think I'll ring him up and ask him."

The very next morning, Tizzard snr started teaching Kimber how to ride, using Masters Hill, a docile old handicapper by then.

It's one of the best stories I've heard about how a jockey found his way into the game. It'd be lovely if Kimber could round off the story with a title, whether it be this season or next or some time in the future.

Monday's picks

Neil Mulholland is suddenly hot, his last three runners (Flat and jumps combined) having won. I'd be inclined to take that with a pinch of salt, November and December having been so slow for the yard, and I can't build a case for his handicap debutant Luminaries at Hereford, which is where his run will probably end.

But he has Magnificent Ben (3.10) a bit later, who looks a fair bet at 9-4. He never got going last season but he was well backed when switched to fences for his reappearance at Lingfield last month and found the post coming just a bit too soon as he stepped back in trip.

This is a tighter track but he's got an extra half-mile and softer ground to help and I expect to see Tom Scudamore get him home in front.

Lady Gwen (3.40) takes a significant step down in class in the following handicap hurdle and is being under-rated at 7-1. She got tired after the final flight on her handicap debut at Newbury but that was a 0-125, whereas she's now in a 0-100.

Her pedigree suggests this softer ground will also help and, though it's only been 16 days, her stablemates are faring better now than then. The market is taking plenty on trust about the two handicap debutants at the top of the betting.

Two things to look out for today . . .

1.Denis O'Regan damaged the crossbar at Hereford a fortnight ago, when a winner would have allowed him to make history but his three mounts finished second, third and fourth. Interestingly, he passes up an opportunity to go back there today in favour of taking a couple of rides in maiden hurdles at Punchestown. It's probably just a case of a senior jockey taking care of the bread and butter but Luminous Light and Parvos will be worth a second look. There are seven more fixtures at Hereford this season and O'Regan will surely be over again at some point.

2. It must be worth noting the fact that James Doyle travels to Wolverhampton for a single ride this evening, bearing in mind how choosy he's been about his British rides this winter. Doyle has a 41 per cent strike-rate here since the start of November and was a winner (on a 6-4 shot at Kempton) on his only British ride of the year so far. He's also been flying in Dubai, where he's ridden four winners from ten rides in the past fortnight. He's booked by the Charltons for Imperium, who is back to his last winning mark and is presumably in search of a slightly less competitive contest than his two runs at Kempton before Christmas.

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The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content