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Fran Berry celebrates winning on board Kool Kompany in June 2014. Morgan Treacy/INPHO
Time to go

Irish jockey retires on medical advice after suffering injuries in a fall in January

Fran Berry was injured while racing at Wolverhampton in January.

JOCKEY FRAN BERRY has announced his decision to retire on medical grounds due to the serious injuries he suffered in a fall in January while racing at Wolverhampton.

The 38-year-old Kildare native has opted to bring a halt to a career spanning 23 years to an end. 

In his Sporting Life column, Berry explained that the ‘serious back and rib fractures’ he had suffered in that fall had forced him to accept ‘that the dream is now over’.

“For the past 23 years I have got to live out my childhood dream of being a jockey.

“But following recent scans and discussions with my medical team headed by my surgeon Dr. Mike Foy, as well as Dr. Jerry Hill, I have to accept that the dream is now over and that due to the injuries sustained in Wolverhampton on 29  January, I will not be able to make a return to race riding.”

Berry admitted hie is conscious of his good fortune

“Whilst this news is heartbreaking on one level, I am fully aware how lucky I am. It was pretty nasty and I’m very, very lucky. I’m genuinely glad to be standing and still walking around.

“Riding has been a fantastic adventure for me and I am very grateful for the way it allowed my family and I to experience the world and gain many friends over that time.”

Berry has been based in Britain since 2016. He began his career over jumps, claiming a win at Cheltenham in 1999 in the Coral Cup on board Khayrawani before going on to concentrate on the Flat and enjoyed a highlight in 2010 when winning with Pathfork for Jessica Harrington in the Group 1 National Stakes at the Curragh.

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