McCoy 'guaranteed' to be fit for Cheltenham Festival

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The 12-times champion jockey, who was injured when falling from Arnold Layne in the totesport. com Classic Chase at Warwick on Saturday, underwent surgery yesterday at the Nuffield Hospital in Oxford that stablised a piece of loose bone.

Surgeons inserted a plate at the base of his spine to stabilise bone that was floating around in the key area near the T12 vertebrae which was broken.

However, the doctors are optimistic that his operation will enable him to be back in the saddle before the Festival starts on March 11.

His assistant Gee Bradburne, a former jump jockey herself, said yesterday: "He had an MRI scan under the care of two specialists James Wilson-McDonald and Jeremy Fairbank.

"The scan suggested that there was a small piece of bone off the vertebrae that could be fixed with a small operation and he's just had the surgery. It should speed up his recovery and guarantee him to be fit for Cheltenham.

"The operation just stabilises the loose bone. He will be in hospital for a couple of days — we don't know exactly how long yet — and then you just have to encourage movement.

"This should guarantee a speedy recovery. He has two of the best spinal specialists on board and they are confident he'll be ready for Cheltenham."

McCoy is currently 55 winners ahead of Graham Lee in the jockeys' title race, but it is highly unlikely that his rival could overtake him even if he failed to ride again before the season's end on April 26.

Another jockey due to return to the saddle in the near future is Robert Winston, whose 12-month ban for passing information for reward is nearing its conclusion.

Winston said: "I'm just putting the finishing touches to my fitness as I'll be back riding in about four or five weeks."

Meanwhile, Sheik Mohammed's avowed intent to be the world's most successful and powerful owner could bear fruit in 2008 if the International Classifications published yesterday are anything to go by. He and his family have six of the top 15 two-year-old colts compared to one (Myboycharlie) owned by their arch rivals Coolmore.