Irish jockey Chris Meehan jumps into a world of pain
OUR parents always told us to be careful when jumping on the trampoline, but jockey Chris Meehan clearly didn’t get the memo.
The Irish rider made headlines earlier this year when he was run over by an ambulance which left him with a broken leg.
As most people do when recovering from a broken leg, Meehan took to trampoline therapy, just to test the strength of his medically-repaired and as luck would have it, Meehan suffered a break in the exact same place.
“I was just doing a bit of circuit fitness work and landed on the wrong leg and it snapped in exactly the same place as before,” Meehan said.
“When I got out of the cast two months ago, they (doctors) told me if I break my leg again it would be a straight operation.
“I’m going on Thursday morning to have X-rays and to get my cast changed over, so I’ll know a lot more then.
“I’m absolutely gutted – heartbroken, to be fair.”
Moving forward, we suggest Meehan and anyone recovering from broken bones avoids taking to the air.
Only a Kiwi would agree to this
Kiwi trainer Bjorn Baker, now training in Australia, is known for his sense of humour, but he agreed to one of the silliest horse names in history.
Horse owner Joe Rossetti approached Baker with a name for his three-year-old son of Nadeem, which can only be described as disastrous.
Horsey McHorseface… let that resonate in your mind for a few seconds before reality hits. The name was a play-on-words after a research ship was called Boaty McBoatface earlier this year, but that’s no excuse.
It’s hard to believe this horse will become a champion with a name like that. You don’t see the champion thoroughbreds of this world with names that are better suited to Grey’s Anatomy.
Assistant foreman to Bjorn Baker, Maddison Berkeley, saw the funny side to it.
“The name came about through the other owner in the horse (Joe Rossetti). I am not too sure exactly how he came up with it but I thought it was hilarious and proposed it to Bjorn,” Berkeley said.
“We had a bit of a laugh about it and Bjorn agreed that we could try the name, even though we weren’t sure that it would be approved.”
It was approved and it finished fourth in a trial at Rosehill behind horses that were given respect by their connections.
It will no doubt attract attention from punters when it lines up race day, but there’s no sentimental money coming from our pockets.
Odds boost expected as McDonald sits
Every Godolphin runner in Australia is expected to receive an odds boost as James McDonald continues his absence from the saddle while his betting investigation continues.
Given his talent, there are punters all throughout Australia which blindly back whichever horse McDonald is riding, regardless of its form. So, with McDonald on the sidelines, expect the average price of Godolphin runners to increase.
Joao Moreira has the same effect when he rides and punters are often forced to take shorter odds simply because he is in the saddle.
James Doyle, McDonald’s replacement, isn’t as well known in Australia as James McDonald and punters could take advantage.
“While we continue to support James McDonald over the period of the investigation, we also have a racing stable to run and James Doyle, who is a retained jockey for Godolphin, is one of the best jockeys in the world,” Godolphin’s managing director Henry Plumptre said.
“With the winter recess in the UK, he is available to ride in Australia for Godolphin and Sheikh Mohammed and we are delighted to have him.”
Doyle is a top-class rider, but replacing McDonald is not an easy task. To replace a rider who allegedly backed himself to win isn’t easy to do.
Will Doyle have that much confidence in himself? Will “The Tennis Player” have the balls to approach Doyle and ask for a leg up?
We don’t know, but enjoy the inflated odds while they last.