Injured jockey Ryan Hatch finds perspective in dark times

Ryan Hatch has spoken of how "lucky" he was to have avoided even more serious injuries from a fall at Cheltenham.Hatch was riding Cogry for his boss Nigel Twiston-Davies when he was involved in a four-horse pile up in November, causing him to spend six weeks on his back in hospital.He broke bones in his neck, fractured his sternum and was left with a haematoma on his spinal cord which prevented an operation.But with Flat jockey Freddy Tylicki left paralysed from the waist down after a fall at Kempton last October, Hatch, who is already back on his feet, knows he had a relatively lucky escape. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Daily show, he said: "I knew I was in a lot of pain but I hobbled into the ambulance, but about 45 minutes later I couldn't feel anything from my chest down. "It was a bit concerning but even then I wasn't thinking it would be that bad because you always think it won't happen to you."You just think once you get to hospital you'll be OK."By midnight I could move one toe and, day by day, I could move a bit more."After about a week everything was moving, but the sensation to touch your legs was very different. Over the first three weeks it improved massively."In the second week I started to realise how serious this was getting and I wasn't even thinking about racing, I was just thinking would I get back to a normal life."When the strength and feeling came back in my legs I forgot about walking and started thinking about horse racing again, you forget how serious it has been."It's all good now, one of my collarbones is quite deformed but apart from that it's not too bad. "For the first few weeks you think you're the unluckiest man in the world but you only need to look at Freddy and the seven other chaps on the ward, I was the only one that was going to walk again so that hit home how lucky I was."