THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: AN ABNORMAL LIFE ... WHAT JOCKEYS GO THROUGH

By Graham Potter | Sunday, May 14, 2017

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily.

Leading apprentice Dylan Dunn announced his retirement this week and his departure from the riding scene led to the usual debate about the weight battle facing most jockeys.

Several years ago I spoke to two of the leading riders at the time about that subject and reported their remarks in this column. I still haven’t found a better way to describe what jockeys go through than the sentiment expressed in the views of the late Stathi Katsidis and Larry Cassidy all those years ago.

For that reason, I think they are well worth repeating here.

The late Stathi Katsidis, who was greatly respected as a rider and who is still sadly missed after his untimely death, provided the clinical description.

“Race days I need three to five hours for weight preparation before the races and two hours after the races for body recovery as well as weight preparation for the following day. My natural body weight is 58 to 60kg.

“People see me riding 53kg and think why can't he ride my horse this week at that weight. Like most jockeys my natural weight is ten percent higher than the riding weights. So all year round I stay on a sensible diet to keep my weight around 55-56kg, then I sweat in the bath to the weight I have to ride.

“I lose 2 kg the night before the races and 1 to 2 kg the day of the races. You can only keep your body that low for so long.”

Larry Cassidy’s brought in more of the emotional side of the battle.

“The other morning I got out of the sauna. I was lying on the floor. I was overheating. I still had three-quarters of a kilo to get off and I felt if someone had come in and shot me through the head, I would have been happier. That’s how bad I felt because of the struggle with my weight.

“I was lying there with a towel over me and wrapped in plastic trying to keep sweating. At times, when you are in that position, you can think like that.”

These comments were made some time ago but the core message of struggle remains true today.

So people can say they know all about how jockeys have to ‘waste.’

Chances are they don’t know half of it.