Daryl Jacob back riding out at Harry Derham stable following injury to shoulder

It was my first morning riding out today having been recovering from keyhole surgery on my injured shoulder back in May and it felt really special to be back in the saddle again - I'm absolutely buzzing to tell the truth.

The broken collarbone I suffered when coming down at Newbury in March left me with a problem that was restricting mobility in my shoulder and the specialist I was seeing recommended the surgery which was thankfully a success.

It's been a slow and steady process since then but rehab has been going really well at Oaksey House after the brace I was initially wearing could come off, and I was just last week given the all-clear to start riding out again which was great news.

I saw the specialist again last Monday and he recommended one more week of rehab, which was fine, so I've been down to Harry Derham's at the earliest opportunity and I actually felt a few nerves on my way down there this morning, I must admit.

It's the first time I've sat on a horse in five months so I didn't really know what to expect this morning but it was great to be back on a horse again, Harry's such a good man too and a trainer really going places.

We had a great year last year and the horses look fantastic. I'm not only excited for myself but for Harry as well, it's great to play a small part in his team.

I'm hoping to be riding out a lot for Harry this year and will be in at Paul Nicholls' later this week too so it's all looking good. My strength in physio has been getting better and better and all of this is just part of the next stage for me really. Touch wood, it's all been going smoothly and according to plan.

Harry's horses are looking good and he's got a full stable there this summer, he probably has the best part of 80 horses there - maybe more.

I sat on two horses called Push To Pass and Nordic Tiger and they both felt great.

The return to race-riding would realistically be a few weeks off still yet but that's the aim and I'm obviously a few short of a thousand winners so we'll see how it goes.

My plan is to take it day by day and I don't want to be setting any targets as we all know what can happen, but it will be my last season as a jockey and I'm really looking forward to it.

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