Jockey Lee making 'positive progress' after spinal cord injury

Irish jockey Graham Lee has made "positive progress" after suffering spinal cord damage following a serious fall at Newcastle last week.

The 47-year-old Galway native was unseated from his mount Ben Macdui as the stalls opened and remains in Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

The Grand National and Ascot Gold Cup-winning rider suffered an unstable cervical fracture causing damage to his spinal cord and has undergone two procedures to stabilise the fractures and further protect his spinal cord.

"Graham has made positive progress in the last 24 hours and has been able to talk normally with his family for short periods when his ventilator is turned down," the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF) said in a statement circulated on Friday afternoon.

"He has been reviewed by his spinal consultant and when a bed becomes available in the ITU at James Cook Hospital, Middlesborough, he will be transferred closer to home.

"Graham and his family want to thank everyone for their continued and overwhelming support."

Lee has ridden under both codes during his lengthy career, with Amberleigh House propelling him onto the front pages in 2004 after the pair won the Grand National for legendary trainer Ginger McCain.

He also enjoyed a successful partnership with staying hurdler Inglis Drever, counting the 2005 World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival among their seven victories together, while the Ferdy Murphy-trained pair of Another Promise and Kalahari King were also Grade One scorers.

Lee switched his attentions to the Flat in 2012, also striking Group One gold with Trip To Paris in the 2015 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot and Alpha Delphini in the 2018 Nunthorpe.

He had his best season on the Flat in 2014 when he rode 159 winners, with 47 victories on the