De Boinville excited by return after shattered arm

Nico De Boinville, the Gold Cup and Champion Chase-winning jockey, returns to the saddle at Catterick on Firday three and a half months on from suffering a broken arm in a fall at Cheltenham.

De Boinville partners the Ben Pauling-trained Treaty Girl in the mares' handicap chase (3.20) and says he is raring to go.

"I've been looking forward to this day for a long while now," he said. "I'm fit and well, as fit as I can be without having ridden in a race, so I should be okay and an injury like this does make you realise every day you get to go racing is a good day.

"I'm looking forward to partnering Treaty Girl. She's been hitting the crossbar a bit of late but she's making good headway over fences so hopefully she can go close."

On making his return over fences rather than in a bumper or hurdles race as many of his colleagues have over the years, De Boinville added: "Why not? What's the difference?"

Nicky Henderson's stable jockey has not ridden on a racecourse since a nasty unseat from Le Reve at Cheltenham's Open meeting in mid-November led to him needing surgery.

In that time De Boinville has missed out on partnering 2015 Gold Cup winner Coneygree on his return at Haydock, seen Sprinter Sacre, the horse who launched his career, retired and missed all three of Altior's starts over fences with Noel Fehily taking over in his absence on the horse De Boinville rode to a seven-length succcess in last year's Supreme Novices' Hurdle.