THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: A DANGEROUS PROFESSION ON AND OFF THE TRACK

By Graham Potter | Friday, January 25, 2019

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.

For anyone who thinks the life of a jockey is all glitter and stardust … you need to readjust your view.

Take the case of champion Sunshine Coast jockey Damian Browne for example. Browne has been doing it tough for the last six months.

An injury suffered at trackwork back in July, when a horse threw its head up and smashed it into Browne’s face leaving the rider with a smashed nose, necessitated a visit to an ear, nose and mouth specialist who immediately booked Browne in for surgery.

Fast forward to the second week of January when Browne suffered a serious health episode … away from the track … which was far more disturbing than a head-butt from a horse.

Browne was rushed to hospital, just a couple of days before he was due to ride the eventual winner Boomsara in the $2 million Magic Millions 3YO Guineas, where it was ascertained that he had a perforated bowel and again he was ushered into surgery which lasted three to four hours.

Browne was told that the reason the perforated bowel occurred was due to the fact that he had been taking anti-inflammatories to offset leg pain. Browne had been doing this for a long period of time which caused an ulcer to appear. The ulcer then flared up causing the bowel perforation.

Scary stuff!

These two examples underline the danger jockeys face both on and off the track. A mishap on a horse can come in many different forms but it is a visible and ever-present danger.

The effects (or consequences) of the dietary and medicinal regime that most jockeys have to follow to keep their weight and sometimes constant aches and pain in check though are not as readily exposed to view as a physical injury … and therein lies a real danger to any jockey’s current and future health.

While, of course, the onus is on all riders to look after themselves, the demands of the industry are intense and the expectations of punters are unforgiving.

It is not just a roll up, get on the horse, get paid for your ride, or better still, win and wave to the crowd, accept the plaudits, or even the glory on a big race day, and then get into your sportscar and drive home to your mansion … as some racegoers seem to believe.

Being a jockey has got to be one of the toughest gigs in town and those who follow that route and provide an essential service to the sport deserve greater recognition for the sacrifices they make. They earn every reward they get and, more often than not, suffer with a lifestyle downside that few of us would be able to manage.

For Browne … his focus right now has nothing to do with any thought of when he might get back to race riding. It is about simply getting back to good health again.

This column joins many others in wishing Damian Browne well in his recovery.

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