CHELTENHAM NEWS:TONY McCOY is counting down the hours to the Cheltenham Festival after being given the all-clear to resume riding from today onwards. The 12-times champion jockey needed surgery after fracturing two vertebrae in a fall from Arnold Layne in the Classic Chase at Warwick on January 12th.

McCoy received a positive verdict on his recovery from his surgeon last week, but had to wait for clearance from the British Horseracing Authority following an independent review on Thursday night.

Despite being made to sweat on the outcome, McCoy stressed he was always expecting to get the go-ahead.

"I was more or less as certain as you could be," he said.

"I was lucky as I saw the scans with my own doctor two weeks ago and he told me I could start riding out again.

"I've seen a lot of scans of broken bones and it looked like it had healed very well.

"The doctor who operated on me was very happy and I've been riding out since.

"I'm absolutely 100 per cent so there was no reason for me not to get passed," he told At The Races.

McCoy's therapy has been aided by kriotherapy treatment, which involves stepping into a compressed compartment in which temperatures drop to around minus-130 degrees to improve blood circulation.