Page Fuller settles for fourth on Hereford riding return

It was not perhaps the result she wanted, with Lady Pacifico fading to fourth in the Cazoo Mares’ Handicap Hurdle at Hereford, yet Page Fuller was just delighted to be riding again.

Fuller, 27, was having her first ride since suffering a mini-stroke during a race at Fontwell in September.

She lost the vision in her right eye and had spasms in her right arm as she partnered Touchthesoul in a two-and-a-quarter-mile handicap chase and though she negotiated the first fence despite her limited vision, she pulled up soon after.

Having spent four months on the sidelines and undergone treatment at Oaksey House in Lambourn, Fuller is keen to kick on and resume her promising career.

“It is definitely really nice to be back,” said Fuller after dismounting from the David Weston-trained Lady Pacifico, who had made much of the running along with eventual winner Maid Of The Night.

“I think it all sounds very serious, but in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t like a lot of people, who have really bad leg breaks or back breaks. I think that is more familiar territory.

“It was a very rare occurrence. We don’t know if the stroke was caused by an earlier fall or a culmination of whiplash injuries, but I was lucky that, to be honest, as soon as I got out of hospital, I was feeling pretty normal. So, it felt more like I was getting over a concussion than anything else. It was familiar territory from that respect.”

Fuller, who has been riding out since the first week in January, has 109 British winners under her belt, including a Sandown Grade Two aboard Anythingforlove for her boss Jamie Snowdon last February.

Fuller was quick to praise friends and family for helping temper her impatience as she continued her rehabilitation.

“Everyone around me has been good at making me take my time,” she added. “To be honest, my body has been in control, I haven’t really just been able to crack on with it.

“Since I could drive, Oaksey House has been brilliant. They know me well enough so they had something to compare it to.

“It was really nice to be back and really good to get the first one out of the way.”