AS THE SAYING GOES ... YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN ... DU PLESSIS MAKES HIS WAY BACK FROM INJURY

By Graham Potter | Thursday, February 16, 2023

Taking a break from race-riding ... enforced or otherwise ... is a double-edged sword.

In the case of an injury taking a rider out of action, the opportunity to have a welcome ‘refresh’ is countered by work involved in getting back to match fitness when the time comes ... and that road can really test a rider’s dedication.

You have to be focussed on what you want to achieve to have a successful outcome to that challenge and jockey Mark Du Plessis has personified professionalism in that regard, following the injury he sustained at the Christmas Eve meeting at Doomben.

“Yeah, it happened on Christmas Eve behind the gates on a filly I rode for Chris Munce (Freeman) in the two-year-old race (the Bruce mcLachlan) ... the qualifier for the Magic Millions,” explained Du Plessis. “She reared up. I got thrown off and landed flat on my back.

“I thought I can still ride ... so I rode that race and rode my last one, but then, on Boxing Day I ended up in hospital. I couldn’t move.

“I’d broken a rib and my L1 ... so a rib and a vertebra. The doctors said I have to take six weeks off, so I listened.

“It was not the best timing ... it never is ... but it was good to take a break. It could have been worse.

“Before I fell, I was the fittest I’d ever been, a factor which helped a lot with my recovery, but then you have to go back to the drawing board once you can start exercising again.

“Since I could do that I’ve been working hard in the gym with Mick Coorey and I’ve also been back at the track slowly getting back to race fitness

“I did panic a little bit about when I was first due to come back. I worried that I didn’t give myself enough time and I didn’t want to go to the races looking out of place.

“Mick Coorey, in particular, has been instrumental in helping me get here, particularly in the last three weeks with the work he has put me through in the gym. He helped me get ready to the point where I knew I wouldn’t look silly going to the races.

“I’ve been with Mick for the last twelve months and it’s been a great association, but these last three weeks were crucial because, when I was allowed to go back to the gym again this time after my latest injury, I was basically going back to square one and I told him that.

“I said, we’ve basically got two-and-a-half to three weeks to get me back to the races, because that is when I wanted to go back.

“Yes, I did have to put in the hard yards myself, but Mick was the catalyst for me to do that. If I had to do it by myself, I wouldn’t have done it, certainly not to the level of intensity that he had me doing.

“With Mick, it was case of putting my faith in someone that I trusted to tell me what to do ... and then do it. That trust was a very important factor in my return.

“I’d say I am about eighty-five percent match fit going into my first race-day after recovering from that injury ... so there is still some improvement to come, but I’m just thrilled to be back.

“I might not be back to that one-hundred and ten percent fitness yet, but I’m feeling good and I’m ready to go.”
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Mick Coorey's view of working with Mark Du Plessis:

“When I first met Mark, he wanted ... I suppose you could call it ... a new lease on life in terms of his physical fitness. Being and jockey, he probably hadn’t done enough work in the gym as he would have liked before that.

“Mark’s manager (Cameron Partington) make contact and spoke to me about that. He wanted Mark to probably step it up a bit and he thought it would be a good idea for Mark to come in a see me ... and all credit to Mark for following through with that.

“When Mark first came to me we just worked on general fitness, core strength and different exercises that would help him be better as a jockey.

“He obviously had to get out of his comfort zone. Ever since he started he has always been committed and has never dropped off. Even when he has been injured, he has been keen to get back as quickly as he could by doing all of his rehab properly.

“With his latest injury, I just gave him that positive reinforcement that he would be right to get back, that he just had to be patient and follow the doctor’s orders, do everything right and everything would follow from there.

“He listened to the doctor. He listened to me ... and, as soon as he was able to do something, we got straight into it and we just progressed week after week. He actually stepped up his training because he wanted to get back to where he was sooner rather than later.

“He did that and, before he knew it, he was back riding better than ever.

“Whatever Mark does in the gym, most of my clients won’t be able to do right now. With some of the exercises he does, they just look at Mark in amazement.

“I’ve been lucky enough ... because I played professional sport myself at NRL level ... to have learned so much from all the great coaches that coached me at those football clubs. I’m just grateful that I had that tuition and can pass on that knowledge to whoever is working with me now.

“It is a pleasure working with him both professionally and personally.

"He works hard and gets the results for himself.

"He is a good man.”

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