'I've been waiting for this for so long' - delighted Millie Wonnacott has first winner since comeback from broken neck

Millie Wonnacott rode her first winner since breaking her neck in a fall at the Cheltenham Festival two years ago when guiding Storm Asset to a surprise success in the 1m1½f apprentice jockeys' handicap at Wolverhampton on Monday.

Wonnacott suffered two fractures in her C1 vertebra when she was unseated from Kansas City Chief in the 2021 Pertemps Final at the festival and returned to the saddle in February earlier this year on the Flat. On her 15th ride since making her comeback, she guided the Tony Carroll-trained 16-1 shot to a length-and-a-half success.

She told Sky Sports Racing: "I thought this wasn't going to happen at one point. It's been a long time and over two years since I was last in the winner's enclosure, and it's a big weight off my shoulders more than anything else.

"I've been waiting for this for so long. I decided to give it a go on the Flat when I came back as I was plenty light enough and had a good few spins. I'm absolutely delighted and I can't thank Tony enough."

Wonnacott had 23 winners over jumps, with the last of those coming in the month she suffered her serious injury, but she is now firmly focused on making her name on the Flat.

"I was thinking about my comeback even a week after the accident," she added. "I had a couple of bad injuries over jumps and it was always in my mind about coming back on the Flat, but I wasn't brave enough to take the leap. It was going well over jumps, but I wouldn't know a lot of Flat trainers.

"I had to start out looking for dual-purpose trainers who knew me and get those extra contacts. It's hard, especially as I claim 5lb. It was really hard to get going again but you have just got to have faith that it does."

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