Freddy Tylicki: Fund to help paralysed jockey raises more than £200,000

Freddy Tylicki remains in intensive care at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London

A fund set up to support jockey Freddy Tylicki after he was left paralysed from the waist down in a fall at Kempton last Monday has passed its target of £200,000 in just two days.

Tylicki suffered a T7 paralysis in a four-horse pile-up riding Nellie Dean.

At The Races presenter Matt Chapman set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the jockey's recovery.

"The response has been incredible and the money raised is more than I could ever imagine," said Chapman.

"Having said that, the racing community is a strong and great one. It's an industry that looks after its own, so maybe I shouldn't have been quite as overwhelmed as I am.

"The important thing now is that people don't think we have enough funds. In this situation there will never be enough."

The sport was united in support for Tylicki, said Professional Jockeys Association chief executive Paul Struthers.

"Racing may have many issues and flaws but its biggest strength is how it pulls together in difficult, tragic times," he said.

"Freddy is one of the most popular members of the weighing room and will not lack for support, with offers already flooding in."

The 2016 jump racing champion jockey Richard Johnson added his thoughts on Twitter

Steve Drowne, who avoided injury when his mount, Skara Mae, was brought down in the same incident, added: "He is everyone's friend and he loved doing what he was doing and had just had his best year ever, getting a couple of Group Ones in the book. But racing is probably the last thing he is thinking about now."

Emerging Newmarket-based trainer Charlie Fellowes said he would always be thankful to Tylicki for providing him with his first winner on a day that he described as the "happiest of my life".

Tylicki rode Barbary to victory in a seven-furlong handicap at Lingfield in February 2014.

Fellowes said: "He is the happiest, most genuine guy you will come across. He always came in with a smile on his face and he would never be in a bad mood."

The stewards on duty at Kempton on Monday concluded the incident was accidental, and the British Horseracing Authority has no plans for a further review.

"Thankfully, incidents such as these are a rare occurrence but we are not complacent and the issue of racecourse safety is one that we keep under constant review," said a spokesman.