Jockey Tom Greenway dies aged 38

Jockey Tom Greenway dies aged 38

Tom Greenway, the jockey who was told he would never ride again after a horrific fall 17 years ago, has passed away today, Monday, November 8, after a health battle. He was aged only 38.

The jumps jockey, who started out in point-to-points, broke his neck in three places when he was only 21, and doctors told him that although he would make a full recovery, he would never ride horses again. He went on to defy those doctors, having more than 40 career wins.

Greenway spent several months fitted with a special neck brace after his accident, and took around ten months to recover. After going through physiotherapy and successful scans, he was pronounced fit to ride again. He told the Racing Post at the time, “I was told I would make a full enough recovery to lead a normal life, but I would never ride again. I couldn’t accept that. I love my racing”.

In the summer of 2005, after making his return, he rode Touch Closer to victory, a horse trained by Peter Bowen. Speaking to Racing Post, the trainer led the tributes to Greenway, “Tom was a good jockey and he was a lovely lad”.

Will Kinsey, an ex-amateur rider and trainer, and a personal friend of Greenaway’s, had fond memories of him, “He rode a lot of winners, and he came back from a broken neck – they called him the miracle man in the paper”.

One of his final wins came with the John Berry-trained, Lady Suffragette. Berry said of the jockey, “I booked him because he struck me as a good claimer, and he used to come down and school. He was so nice and so helpful and we stayed in touch on social media after he stopped riding”.

When he eventually quit horse racing, Greenway trained and qualified as a plumber, and ended up working in the property industry with his brother David. He also used the popular initiative Racing to School to teach children about race-riding, as reported by mirror.co.uk.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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