Having ridden a double earlier in the day, Kevin Stott suffered a crashing fall at Wolverhampton on Monday 1st December and, since then, his recovery has been supported by the Injured Jockeys Fund.
“It was a hairline fracture in my T4,’ Kevin explained. ‘I actually rode the next day (and rode a winner) because I went to James Cook Hospital to get an X-ray or a CT scan and they wouldn’t give me one because they said I wasn’t in pain or anything like that. I went and had a private scan the day after, on the Wednesday, and it came up on the scan unfortunately.”
“Jack Berry House have been really good. They were there on the phone straightaway. They’re just a really good team, they work really well together,” Kevin said. “I was in the hydropool to start with. I was doing a lot of stuff where I couldn’t really put a lot of pressure on my spine. The physio team in there, Danny Hague, IJF S&C, obviously know what they are doing. Danny loaded me up with loads of different things where I didn’t have to use my spine and then Sophie Phillips, IJF Clinical Lead at Jack Berry House, had me on the “Reformer Pilates” after a couple of weeks, which was really good.”
This has all been something a bit different for Kevin.
“It was extremely helpful, just like the little things you don’t usually do from day to day, like the yoga and the Pilates and the hydropool. You kind of just go and ride out and go racing, so you don’t really get to do that much, but it has definitely helped a lot while I’ve been off. It’s something I’ll be doing a lot more of, even though I am getting back race-riding. I will try and find time to do these things again because I do believe that they have helped.’
It is not only the physical side of recovery that Kevin has been focusing on.
‘I think what has helped a lot as well is Phil, who is in there every Tuesday. He is the fella you can speak to regarding mental health and he has been a big part of the eight weeks I have been out so far. I think it is particularly harder on lads that are out injured mentally because a lot of things happen because they’re injured that they can’t do anything about, so I think Phil Martin, therapist from Sporting Chance, the IJF’s mental wellbeing provider, has been a massive help. It is important to talk a lot when you are off and he’s definitely another person I will continue speaking to a lot when I’m back race-riding.”
Kevin has ridden winners at the very top level, including the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in 2020 aboard Hello Youmzain and the 2023 King Edward VII Stakes with fan-favourite grey King of Steel, both at Royal Ascot.
“My first Group One (Hello Youmzain) was in Covid when there were no crowds, so it wasn’t what I pictured my first Group One would be like. King of Steel at Royal Ascot was incredible. My family was over at the time as well and it was just nice because the horse ran so well in the Derby and there’s a lot of horses who have finished second in the Derby who have turned out to be not as good as people thought. There was a lot of talk about this horse that it was a bit of a fluke he finished second in the Derby, he was a big price, so him winning at Royal Ascot the way he did was huge and definitely a day I won’t forget. Credit to the horse for winning a Group One then later the year after.”
At the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025, Kevin sought to broaden his racing horizons and began riding in New Zealand.
“I’m really glad I went. It is obviously something a little bit different to your normal Middle East, America and Australia — you don’t really hear that much about New Zealand. I got to learn a lot about New Zealand, not just racing, but everything about New Zealand as well. I had an amazing just short of five months there. I met some incredible people and I learnt a lot to do with horses as well. New Zealand has one of the biggest breeding industries, which breeds horses that end up in Hong Kong and Australia. The breeding operation is huge for the Southern Hemisphere, which is something not a lot of people realise.”
It sounds like the trip came at the perfect moment.
“I had a quietish year leading up to it when I was going, which is why I wanted to try and get going and enjoy going racing again by going somewhere different,’ Kevin admits. ‘That without a doubt got back straightaway when I got there and started riding out. You start riding a few winners and next thing you know you’re going racing and having eight, nine or ten rides on the card and feeling wanted. It’s a nice feeling and you gain loads of confidence and you start riding well.”
A trip to New Zealand is something Kevin highly recommends for any kind of jockey that is wanting a change of scenery, or a springboard into Australian racing, as the visa conditions are much easier for riders. British jockeys George Rooke and Joe Doyle are making a good go of things over there. When out in New Zealand, Kevin won a Group One aboard Grail Seeker in January 2025 and, since returning to Britain in March, he has been finding his feet again with the backing of trainer Kevin Ryan.
“I’m mostly connected to Kevin Ryan, where I do most of my riding out. Kevin has been a big supporter of mine for many years and it’s kind of a bond where it is crazy how we work so well together. Kevin and Jill have kind of been my second family while living in England because they’ve always been so close to me. Riding winners for Kevin is awesome and it’s something I really enjoy doing and we work really well together.”
Now, with the ongoing support of the IJF’s clinical and mental wellbeing support teams, Kevin is looking forward to returning to the racecourse.
“I’d like to hope, touch wood, that in the middle of February I’d be back race-riding and slowly build up from the start of the year and hopefully have a good year.”
*Samantha Martin in conversation with Kevin Stott for the Injured Jockeys Fund. |