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Top jockey Clifford Lee is out of an induced coma after he was hurt in a motorbike accident while on holiday. The 29-year-old fell off head first and was rushed to hospital last week where scans showed he had fractured his neck. Lee, who had been at the end of a career best year with 94 winners, will be out of the saddle for quite a long time, according to his boss Karl Burke. "He is out of his induced coma so that is a step forward," he said yesterday. "He has got to have an operation to pin the fractures. He's a strong lad and hopefully he can get through the operation and then it's a road to recovery then." In August, Lee made a new addition to his race-riding record by securing the Prix Morny at Deauville on juvenile filly Venetian Sun. He also had several other big wins this summer aboard the likes of Royal Champion, Al Qareem and Convergent. Successful on his last four rides, Lee was serving a suspension when he took a break in Greece and then headed to Scotland with his family when he fell from the cross-country bike. Burke told Racing TV he learned about what had happened on Sunday morning. "I didn't have a clue he rode motorbikes to be honest," he added. "It's a horrible thing to have happened but equally it could have been a lot worse." Lee's horses earned a combined total of £2.3million throughout 2025 in Britain, with tough-as-teak stayer Al Qareem collecting £237,857 from four victories. From south-east London, the talented sportsman does not come from a racing background, his father being a handyman and mother a cleaner. His excellent judgement of pace has been typified in back-to-back victories in the Cambridgeshire, one of the most competitive handicaps in the calendar, on the Burke-trained Boiling Point and Liberty Lane. Fans have sent messages of support to Lee, who is in hospital in Edinburgh. One said: “Wishing Clifford Lee a speedy recovery, he’s been excellent this season, both with and without Karl Burke. Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a big job for him in the near future.” Another commented: “Hoping Clifford Lee makes a recovery from a bizarre accident.”
