A frank interview with Newmarket-based rider on the comeback trail after hitting rock bottom – to the extent that he even tried to take his own life
When it comes to falling, most jockeys learn how to bounce. But when you fall so hard emotionally that you try to take your own life, things get much harder.
That is where George Buckell found himself just 16 months ago. He had reached rock bottom, no longer race-riding, and his weight had soared. It was a stark contrast to two years previously, when he was spending the winters in Dubai, riding for multiple UAE champion trainer Doug Watson, and the summers in the UK, where he was on the mark at Glorious Goodwood. His future looked bright. Until it didn’t.
Now on the brink of turning 30, Buckell is reflective, prosaic – and above all determined. He is making a comeback; a return to professional riding two and a half years since he last rode in a race.
“I stopped [race] riding and then I was just riding out for a bit,” he says, settling into a comfy chair at the Injured Jockeys’ Fund’s Sir Peter O’Sullevan House in Newmarket. “I had a job breaking in yearlings for Shadwell, then I was at John Gosden’s for a while. Then I got completely out of it and was doing horse transport for just over a year.”
That, it turned out, was crucial. Horse transport took him racing. “I was at Royal Ascot transporting horses and I bumped into [trainer] Mick Appleby and he said to me ‘why did you give up, you shouldn’t have given up.’
“I said: ‘Mick I’m 11 stone, I’ve got no chance of coming back, I don’t want to do it.’ But from that day it relit a fire in me.
“I thought I’d see if my weight would come down and started doing a bit more fitness and eating a bit better. It worked and I thought ‘I can give this another go.”
Buckell is now at a riding weight of 8st13lb having lost the excess in just over two months – an impressive performance even for one who is used to life on the scales.
A lot of McDonald’s
“When I was at 11 stone it was quite hard work to stay at 11 stone,” he smiles. “I was eating a lot of food, a lot of McDonald’s, and I wasn’t very healthy at all, so the first stone dropped off quite quickly.
“I got in touch with George Wilson, who does a lot of the diet and nutrition for jockeys, and he helped me out with getting the last stone off, so I’m getting there now.”
Even so, surely there are easier ways to make a living than by spending hours each day in a car, chasing winners, or even just rides?
“I didn’t want to get any older without giving it another go, because I know deep in my heart that I never gave it my full dedication,” says the London-born rider, who has no background in racing.
“I just wanted to give it one more go and do it properly,” he adds. “If it doesn’t work out, then I can live with that, but I couldn’t live with not trying.”
Buckell has around 100 winners on his CV, with just over 60 in the UK and the remainder in the UAE. “Every winner is brilliant,” he says now, but back in his dark days this wasn’t enough.
Wrong attitude
“My attitude was completely wrong,” he explains. “I thought that everything was about me. I was very self-obsessed. When things didn’t go right, I used to stamp my feet. It might have seemed different from the outside, but the inside was a different story.
“When I came back [to the UK from Dubai, in 2022] I got involved with a lot of drinking and fell into addiction. A good friend of mine, Sam Warren, who runs the charity RACE (Racing, Addictions and Coping with Emotions) helped me get my life back on track and showed me a different way of living.
“It got pretty low. I was ‘blue lighted’ to hospital at one point, when my heart nearly stopped. I woke up with my family around me. It was an overdose; a suicide attempt, but one that I didn’t have the strength to do by myself, so I tried to use other things to do it.
“I gave up drinking about 16 months ago. I went into recovery and joined Narcotics Anonymous, which was a big, big thing for me.
Different mindset
“Now, I’ve just got a completely different mindset and perspective on life. I’d say I’m fitter than I ever have been. I’m in the IJF gym every day. I ride out for George Boughey in the mornings and then I come straight here.”
Buckell isn’t the first jockey to suffer from the pressures of what is a hugely demanding career. But he now has a good support network and isn’t afraid to pick up the phone and ask for help.
“When I was first trying to shift the weight I gave Oisin Murphy a call,” he says. “His is a completely different journey but he’d had that time out of the saddle and he was very good to me with advice on how to get my weight back.
“He’s been brilliant. I film myself on the simulators every couple of days and I send him videos. James Doyle has also been good to me; he’s always on the phone for advice.”
Buckell also has a strong relationship with Classic-winning trainer Boughey, for whom he has worked intermittently for arou
nd four years.
“George has been brilliant,” he says. “He’s always very open and honest about things and he makes me feel comfortable – I know I can speak to him about anything and he understands me, so it’s a big help.”
This, clearly, is a much more mature Buckell than the one who rode in Dubai a few years ago. Then, his downtime was taken up with boxing – something which he does less of these days, having other priorities.
Recovery is number one
“My recovery is number one,” he says. “I go to meetings a couple of times a week; I do step work with my sponsor. Then it is just work; horse racing and the gym, although Sam and I do get to play a couple of rounds of golf in the week.
“It’s almost like a drug itself, racing. It’s one addiction I haven’t been able to get over. Once it’s under your skin it stays there. I’ve found that the buzz of riding winners is something you can’t emulate anywhere else. It’s been completely different coming back and doing it in recovery and being sober. Every day is a happy day for me now.”
So how will he feel when – if – he rides that first winner? A wry smile.
“You might see a few tears … maybe. It will be a big deal for me.
“I’m just living in horse racing at the minute and loving it. I work very hard, I’m very honest, and I care about horses and the people I’m riding for.”
• Visit the Injured Jockeys' Fund website
Boy wonder Billy Loughnane heads to Australia for the winter
Leading UK jockey David Egan returns for Gulfstream championship meet
View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires