The cheers will be heard from New Zealand to far north Queensland if popular Gold Coast jockey Justin Stanley makes a successful city comeback at Eagle Farm on Wednesday.Stanley's career looked to be over when he was involved in an horrific four-horse fall at the Gold Coast in December 2005.The fall left him with a fractured skull, bruising to the brain, a broken jaw in two places as well as knee and collarbone fractures.Stanley spent more than three years recovering from his injuries and was ab

The cheers will be heard from New Zealand to far north Queensland if popular Gold Coast jockey Justin Stanley makes a successful city comeback at Eagle Farm on Wednesday.

Stanley's career looked to be over when he was involved in an horrific four-horse fall at the Gold Coast in December 2005.

The fall left him with a fractured skull, bruising to the brain, a broken jaw in two places as well as knee and collarbone fractures.

Stanley spent more than three years recovering from his injuries and was about a month away from making his riding comeback in March last year when he suffered a broken leg riding work for his former boss Garry Newham in New Zealand.

Stanley spent a further six months on the sidelines with the broken leg before finally making his long-awaited return at the Ballina Cup meeting in September last year.

Since then Stanley decided to pack his bags and try his luck in far north Queensland before returning to New Zealand to resume riding work for Newham until last month.

"I wasn't ready to pick up the pieces and put in 100 per cent to get my weight down after I broke my leg," Stanley said.

"So I decided to go back again to my old boss and just ride work in New Zealand.

"Before that I rode in north Queensland around Townsville and the bush tracks because I was too heavy.

"All-up I spent about six months in New Zealand and I rode for four months around Townsville but now I'm back home on the Gold Coast and I plan to get stuck into it."

Stanley has finally won the battle of the bulge and can comfortably ride at 54 kilograms.

"My weight is enormous. I'm down to riding 54 kilos and I haven't done that since before the big fall four years ago," he said.

At 176 centimetres, Stanley is one of the tallest riders in the country.

His best win to date was when he was apprenticed to Newham and the pair won the Group Two O'Shea Stakes (2400m) at Eagle Farm with Ken's Joy in 2000.

Stanley's opportunities have been limited since returning to the Gold Coast and his only Eagle Farm ride will be on the Les Kelly-trained Little Ned in the Australian Special Metals Maiden Plate (1000m).

The three-year-old has started only once finishing seventh in a Maiden Plate (1010m) at Ballina last month.

"It's been tough physically and mentally but I'm determined to make it back," Stanley said.

"I've ridden two winners at Ipswich and Ballina since coming back and I'm hopeful the ride I've got tomorrow will go well."