Still Sidelined After Run-In with Gulfstream Geese, Sutherland Fears She’ll Never Ride Again

For Chantal Sutherland, it started out as a freakish accident. She rode Haruki (Karakontie {Jpn}) in the May 6 English Channel S. at Gulfstream and as the horses were pulling up she encountered a bunch of geese who were crossing over the turf course. Spooked by the birds, the horse stopped abruptly and sling shotted Sutherland to the ground.

The result was that she broke the humerus bone completely off from her shoulder. She said that her left arm snapped at the base of the shoulder and that it went up into her collarbone. She also broke her left pelvis.

Early estimates were that she would be out about three months. More than seven months later, the 47-year-old jockey has not ridden, there is no timetable for her return and she fears that she will never ride again.

“I'm working on my range of motion,” she said. “I feel like I'm at a certain point and it's not getting better right now. My doctor said it will need time. Obviously, when you're a jockey, time is not your friend. I would love to be able to ride again. That's the dream. But the reality is I really don't know.”

“I hope it doesn't come to that, that I have to retire,” she said. “I'm not in any position to ride at a top level. There's no way. It would be dangerous and I have to get to the point where I can use my left arm. I can't. My arm won't straighten and I have a three second delay from my brain to arm. It needs a lot more work. I've been working really hard at it. I dream of racing again, but I don't know.

“It's my range of motion,” she continued. “I can't get my arm above my head. My shoulder only goes to a certain point with my muscles and my range motion. I can't lift a two-pound weight above my head. I can't get my arms above my head. I practice laying down, like a swimmer, my left arm low to the side. My right arm is perfectly strong. I could hold a horse if I wanted with reins with my right arm. But my left side is awkward. Nothing is in sync. I have no control of that.”

That the accident was so avoidable continues to haunt Sutherland. She said a trainer stabled near the clubhouse turn feeds the birds during the last break during morning training and again late in the day. The geese live in the infield lake and cross the racetracks to get fed, she said. She doesn't understand why Gulfstream didn't take steps to keep the geese off of the track.

“Am I really pissed off? Yes,” she said. “I've gone through a lot of anger with this. I was alone. I never got a phone call from the trainer. Never got a text. I heard from no one. I'm still emotional about it. I went through a lot of anger and I was really depressed. I wanted to give up. I think I am pretty stable, but talking about it is too hard. I had a good five, seven years left as a jockey. It hurts a lot.”

She is currently working as an assistant trainer to Jorge Delgado and recently took out her real estate license, but that's not what Sutherland wants to do. She wants to ride again.

“It's just that right now it doesn't look good,” she said. “I am praying for a miracle.”

The post Still Sidelined After Run-In with Gulfstream Geese, Sutherland Fears She’ll Never Ride Again appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Jack Gilligan Back In Saddle At Fair Grounds After Recovering From Broken Collarbone

Jockey Jack Gilligan returns to riding at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La., on Friday, piloting Semi Charmed Life (10-1) for trainer Danny Besancon in Race 5. Suffering a broken collarbone after Tripper John reared in the gate on Jan. 10, 2021, Gilligan's time away to heal extended longer than at first expected.

“I feel better than ever. I didn't realize how messed up I was really these last couple of years with these concussions and stuff until I took the time off,” Gilligan said. “I'm hoping the improvement I feel right now will show on the race track. Hopefully I will do better than ever.”

Between 2014 and early 2021, Gilligan won 356 races amassing $8,767,893 in earnings. His biggest win to date came at Fair Grounds in the 2019 Mineshaft (G3) aboard Silver Dust for trainer Bret Calhoun.  Having plenty of success in his young career, he has taken that winning attitude to the gym to be cranked for his return.

“I go to the gym five or six days a week,” Gilligan said. “A lot of cardio, a lot of time working the core in the gym. It hasn't been until this last month that I've started getting back on horses, in the morning breezing. It's been good and I feel really tight right now.”

Now fit and feeling fantastic, the new challenge is finding mounts.

“That's the tough thing: you have so long off you kind of lose all your business, so it's like starting all over again,” Gilligan said. “I'm not going to let it keep me down, I know it's tough. I'm going into it with the mindset I've got to start from scratch again. I'm not expecting anything and I am thankful for whatever opportunities I can get. I'm just going to work as hard as I can to try and get back riding.”

In 2020-21, Gilligan enjoyed quite a bit of success with trainer Shane Wilson.

“I hope I can start riding for Shane again,” Gilligan said. “I haven't gotten on anything for him so far but he said he was going to find something for me. Right now, I've got a mount for Jose Camejo on Saturday. One for Gary Scherer so far. I've been in there breezing for Al Stall so hopefully he might give me something.”

Source of original post

Rossa Ryan Sidelined With Broken Collarbone

Jockey Rossa Ryan is benched for the forseeable future after breaking his collarbone in a fall when aboard Imajorblush (GB) (Mukhadram {GB}) at Wolverhampton on Wednesday evening. Imajorblush did not survive.

“I'm gutted to have broken my collarbone in a fall at Wolverhampton when riding Imajorblush, who very sadly sustained a fatal injury in the final furlong,” Ryan tweeted. “It's always devastating to lose a horse, and my thoughts are with all his connections–his owners, Zoe and George Hassall, and trainer Philip Kirby and all his team.

“I'm waiting to find out more about the severity of my injury and the next steps for my recovery. Thank you for all the messages of concern and support.”

The post Rossa Ryan Sidelined With Broken Collarbone appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘I’m Drawing This As The Line’: After Injury In Fall At Ellis, Trainer Larry Jones Finished Galloping

Trainer Larry Jones has long been well-known for galloping his own horses, and his unique long-stirrup and fast-moving style have always set his trainees apart in the mornings. Those days are now over for the 63-year-old, following a serious spill last Saturday at Ellis Park.

According to the Daily Racing Form, Jones was thrown from an unraced 2-year-old and suffered nine broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and a fractured vertebra. He's back at work already, but looking forward, the trainer plans to stick to the pony or stay on the ground.

Six years ago, Jones had to be placed in a medically-induced coma due to a severe head injury after a fall at Delaware Park.

“Every time I'd get hurt, all I'd think about was getting back up,” Jones told the Daily Racing Form. “But not any longer. I'm drawing this as the line. I've looked for the end of that racetrack for 40 years now, but I'm done looking.”

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

The post ‘I’m Drawing This As The Line’: After Injury In Fall At Ellis, Trainer Larry Jones Finished Galloping appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights