Tony McCoy's Race Against Time

Racing fans eagerly anticipating the 2008 Cheltenham Festival will be relieved to hear that legendary national hunt champion jockey Tony McCoy looks well set to appear at this year’s event.

Tony McCoy injured his back in a fall from Arnold Layne during the Classic Chase at Warwick on the 12th of January. Initial diagnosis of the injury indicated that McCoy might not be fit to race until the Grand National in April. However further testing showed that the injury was confined to a single cracked vertebra.

The jockey who once claimed to have broken every single bone in his body is notoriously tough, and immediately went into a course of physiotherapy and was soon making good progress. Some radical treatments have been utilized to ensure that McCoy is in Exotic Dancer’s saddle come Gold Cup day.

Most recently Tony McCoy has been subjecting himself to Kriotherapy, a new treatment that involves isolation in a chamber with temperatures below –130 degrees Celsius. The treatment is believed to increase healing by promoting circulation.

Whilst Tony McCoy’s participation in the 2008 Cheltenham Festival will only be confirmed on Monday, the 11 times Champion Jockey appears determined to make it to the festival - whatever the price.

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