Burke thrilled to have Clifford Lee back riding out
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 24 Mar 2026
Clifford Lee has returned to the saddle and is riding out for Karl Burke again as he closes in on a comeback following injuries sustained in a cross-country motorbike crash.
The accident, which happened in October, left the jockey in intensive care with serious neck injuries. But following a winter of recovery he was back in the saddle again on Tuesday morning with a stable full of exciting horses to look forward to riding.
“I was very pleased to see his face back in the yard and have him back on a horse, he was obviously glad about it as well,” Burke told the Press Association.
“He has to pass one more fitness test, but he’s passed all the tests on his neck. He’s got to go back to Jack Berry House to do a fitness test before they let him ride, but I don’t think that will be a problem for Cliff.
“I don’t think they’ll let him go this weekend, they’ll probably want to see him ride out for a week but hopefully it will be next week sometime.
“He’s naturally fit and strong and I think that went a long way, the doctors and physios have been amazed how quick he’s recovered.
“He’s been here a long time now and is part of the furniture. He’s very good, but having said that I’ve been very happy with the lads who filled in for him.
“Pierre-Louis (Jamin) has ridden for us through the winter, so has Sam (James), Shane Gray came in for some nice rides at the end of last season and our apprentice Jack Nicholls is doing very well, so I’m very happy with my jockeys.”
Horses Lee can look forward to include Venetian Sun, winner of four races last season before a third-placed run in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh.
“She’s a high-class filly and we know that. The plan is to go straight to the Guineas, there is obviously a question mark over the trip, being by Starman,” Burke said on Sky Sports Racing.
“We stepped her up to seven (furlongs) at the Curragh and she definitely saw out the seven, though I don’t think she was at her best in that end of season run.
“She’s a very relaxed filly who switches off really well, if ever a filly was going to get a mile it will be her.
“We’ll train her for the Guineas and then we’ll see from there, if she’s not getting the trip then we can step her back for the Commonwealth.”
Royal Champion has kept Burke in high spirits throughout the winter, wining both the Bahrain International Trophy and the Neom Turf Cup.
“A lot of people will say it wasn’t a strong Group One, but there is no such thing as a weak Group One,” said Burke of the latter success in Riyadh.
“It was the way he did it, it was a decent time and he just cruised through the race all the way from the straight.
“In the last three or four furlongs you could call him the winner.
“He did his first piece of proper work since this morning and he was his usual enthusiastic self.
“He’s a great horse to have around, he ships off to run in the QEII in Hong Kong and take on Romantic Warrior at the end of April.”
Two horses set to run far closer to home are Spycatcher and Botanical, who have entries in the Cammidge Trophy and the Lincoln respectively at Doncaster on Saturday.
Burke added: “Spycatcher goes to the Cammidge, he’s done a bit of work this morning, but it was very windy so hard to get a gauge on them.
“He won at Doncaster at the end of last season and he loves soft ground, hopefully he can put up a good performance. It’s a starting point, but he’s in good form.
“Botanical probably wants a bit further, I just think this is a good starting point,
“Hopefully he might end up a Cambridgeshire horse. He’ll probably want soft ground over a mile, but he’s galloping well, I just wouldn’t have minded another week with him.”
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