Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Steven King has made a winning return at Seymour after the longest injury-enforced lay off of his career.
King broke four metatarsal bones in his foot last April when Oltre Finito, who he'd just steered to victory in a maiden at Ballarat, veered into the running rail and dumped the jockey who landed awkwardly.
Winner of the 1991 Caulfield and Melbourne Cups on Let's Elope and 2003 Cox Plate on Fields Of Omagh, King made his return on the Steve Richards-trained Timah at Seymour on Thursday and piloted the $2.50 favourite a 1-1/2 length win in a 1209m maiden.
"Fairytales do come true," King told TVN.
"It's a great result.
"I went out a winner and came back a winner. Steve has been a great supporter of mine. We get along really well and all the connections.
"I'm just rapt to come back a winner."
The 44-year-old has been riding trackwork for the past couple of months building up to a race return.
He was keen to make it back to the races before the start of the autumn carnival.
Timah was the first of two rides on the day for King.