International chit chat

[NoChanceToDance]

Munro faces panel in bid to be alllowed to ride again



by Lee Mottershead



ALAN MUNRO on Monday went before a panel of medical experts in the hope that they will recommend his return to the weighing room.

The Derby-winning rider, who has been forbidden from taking mounts since suffering convulsions on a flight to Deauville in August last year, appeared in front of the BHA's medical appeals panel, whose verdict will effectively determine his immediate future as a jockey.

Munro's agent Laura Way said: "Alan is fine and has been in China doing his karate while he's been off. He is fit and ready to go if, God willing, he is told that he will be allowed to ride again. There is nothing stopping him riding fitness-wise but we have not tempted fate by discussing when he would come back should he get the green light."

Munro, who admits to suffering "some sortof convulsion" twice in the past, was out of racing for four years before 2005, but returned to win 60 races that year, and another 49 in 2006 before he was stood down.

The rider's highest-profile win came on Generous in the 1991 Derby and, but for his illness, it is likely he would have been associated with this year's Derby winner Authorized.