THAT'S NOT A BROKEN FINGER. THIS IS A BROKEN FINGER! ANOTHER SETBACK FOR LARRY CASSIDY
By Graham Potter | Friday, December 8, 2023
The year 2023 is one which Larry Cassidy will happily put behind him and want to forget.
Cassidy made a welcome return to race riding at Doomben on Saturday, November 25 after being sidelined for two months, but sadly, his come-back only lasted for the two rides he had that day.
While riding trackwork the following week, Cassidy had a fall which resulted in him suffering a complicated fracture of his left index finger.
In a career in which he has become well versed in recognizing the state of an injury, Cassidy was ‘ninety percent sure’ that his visit to the specialist on Tuesday was going to lead to an operation to repair the injury with an estimated ‘time off’ of six weeks.
Unfortunately for Cassidy, his judgement proved to be spot-on.
“Yeah, he booked me in for the operation,” sighed Cassidy. “He said it was a very bad break. Apparently, the break was like if you point your finger and then you smash it into a wall straight ahead.
“The main knuckle and the bone to the end of your finger … it was pretty much the end of that. It snapped into two which was bad enough, but it also sort of minced all of the cartilage up.
“He cut a zig-zag down the side of my finger close to my thumb.,” continued Cassidy. “He screwed the two bones together that had come apart … then he took a bone graph from my wrist to help put it all back together and hold the cartilage in place.
“People have been saying it’s only a broken finger … but there are broken fingers and broken fingers … and this one was a particularly bad break … and obviously for a jockey that finger is very important.
So how did this latest fall happen?
“It was a high-speed fall,” answered Cassidy. “We were galloping two horses together on the ‘B’ Grass … Michael Rodd and I. I was on the outside. We were going flat out and my horse suddenly just took a left hand turn.”
Cassidy has had more than his fair share of woes for the year which can be traced all the way back to April.
“I felt something go in my back during a race in April,” explained Cassidy. “That was the start of a very rough patch for me.”
Since then, it has been pretty much a pain-ridden period for the forty-two time Group 1 winning rider, with more than a small level of discomfort and frustration added into the mix.
After the incident in April, Cassidy tried physio as a means to help cure the problem.
A couple of months on with the pain not receding and no relief on offer, the injury took on more sinister tone when the pain reached new heights, to the degree that Cassidy could hardly move.
“I couldn't get off the floor. I could not move. If I moved a little bit, the pain was just excruciating,” said Cassidy. “I ended up being rushed to hospital.”
Ultimately, there was no other recourse other than for Cassidy to have an operation on his back which occurred on July 26.
Two months later, on September 16, Cassidy was back in the saddle.
Twelve rides and only a week-and-a-half later, misfortune struck again.
“My last ride during that period was on September 25 at Ipswich on a Monday,” said Cassidy.
“On the Tuesday morning I hurt my back at trackwork again. The horse just reared up in the air and ducked sideways. I lost my iron and obviously I tried to stay on and twisted my back.
“I felt it go and, yet again, I knew I was in trouble.
“I ended up with a bulging disk … the same disk they did a diskectomy on before. It ended up bulging out again and causing me horrific pain. You lose the ability to get up and walk properly.
‘It wasn’t bulging enough for them to do another operation … because it is three strikes and you get a fused spine.
“Luckily, the surgeon who had operated on my back previously told me to come in straight away to see him after the MRI. I did that and there was a pain specialist downstairs from where he worked. They worked hand in hand … and my surgeon sent me to him.
“He did what they call a caudal epidural and I was able to walk out of the hospital two hours later, but obviously a further period of rest and rehabilitation was needed, which is why I was only able to come back to race riding two months later.
“Getting back that time was a lot harder with my weight. It might sound strange … I am much fitter than I was before my operation, but I am heavier. One had its upside and then there is the downside.
“So, yeah, I was able to return again on November 25, sadly only for those two rides before this latest injury episode.
“On a brighter note, it wasn’t my back this time. My back is good … and at least I’ll be able to enjoy Christmas lunch,” quipped Cassidy.
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