‘Tougher Than Anyone I Know’: Jockey Scott Stevens, Elder Brother To Hall Of Famer, Retires Due To Injury

Veteran reinsman Scott Stevens will retire from the saddle after an injury suffered at Turf Paradise on Feb. 24, 2021, his younger brother, Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, reported via Twitter on Wednesday.

Scott Stevens was dislodged shortly after the start of the afternoon's third race at the Phoenix, Ariz. track, and suffered a broken C2 vertebrae along with other minor injuries. According to his younger brother, Stevens has feeling and no paralysis, but he will never ride competitively again.

“He is tougher than anyone I know,” wrote Gary Stevens on Twitter. “He is gonna move on and be fine. Great mentor and person.”

Like his younger brother, Scott Stevens began his Thoroughbred racing career at Les Bois Park in Idaho. His career achievements include induction into the Canterbury Downs Hall of Fame, the George Woolf Award in 2019 and nine riding titles at Turf Paradise.

The elder Stevens brother will retire with a record of 5,049 wins from over 33,000 starts, with a record dating back to 1976, according to Equibase.

Only 35 North American jockeys have reached the milestone of 5,000 wins. Stevens has ridden over 33,000 races for earnings of more than $43 million.

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‘Makes It All Worthwhile’: Feargal Lynch Posts Comeback Victory At Laurel

In just the second ride of his comeback from neck and back fractures that kept him away from the races for 200 days, journeyman Feargal Lynch piloted James Wolf's Nomo Ron to a 2 ½-length victory in Monday's special Presidents Day holiday feature at Laurel Park.

Nomo Ron ($7.40), a 6-year-old Paynter gelding trained by Anthony Farrior, ran six furlongs in 1:10.45 over a sloppy and sealed main track to capture the third-level optional claiming allowance for older horses, his ninth career win.

It was the first win for the 42-year-old Lynch since registering a hat track July 17, 2020 at Laurel, including a triumph on subsequent Maryland Million Turf Sprint and Claiming Crown Canterbury winner Fiya.

Represented by agent Chris Pipito, Lynch launched his comeback with a single mount Feb. 7 at Laurel, Graham Motion-trained Saintly Samurai, who was also racing for the first time since winning under Lynch last July 17. Lynch suffered a condylar fracture in his neck and wedge compression fracture in his back from a spill at Laurel just six days later.

“Yeah, that was nice. It makes it all worthwhile,” Lynch said. “I'm just glad to get the first winner back. I'm very thankful to Mr. Wolf and Anthony Farrior and all the people that helped me get here; my wife and my agent. It's been a good team effort and I'm just happy for everybody that we're back up and running.”

Lynch kept Nomo Ron in the clear three wide as Stroll Smokin and jockey Xavier Perez set the pace with Grade 3 winner and even-money favorite Always Sunshine, trained by Ned Allard, racing in between. Nomo Ron rolled up to take the lead on the turn after a half in 46.37 seconds and pulled away once straightened for home. Stroll Smokin finished second, with Always Sunshine third.

“I thought Ned Allard's horse would have a bit more pace. I thought he'd go and attack Xavier,” Lynch said. “Xavier had the lead and my horse broke really well in my hands and was traveling well. I just didn't want to disappoint him on that track. He got braver and braver and when we got into the straight, he went on about his business and he got the job done.”

Lynch is named on three horses when live racing returns to Laurel Park Friday, Feb. 19, including Grade 2 winner Shotski for trainer Jerry O'Dwyer. On the Feb. 20 Winter Sprintfest program, he will ride Needs Supervision for O'Dwyer in the $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3), Majestic Dunhill in the $250,000 General George (G3) and Buckey's Charm in the $100,000 Wide Country for 3-year-old fillies.

Winter Sprintfest, featuring six stakes worth $900,000 in purses, was rescheduled from Feb. 13 due to inclement weather that also cost Laurel Sunday's Valentine's Day card.

“We're coming back and we'll hopefully have a nicer track for this Saturday. I've got some rides Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Lynch said. “I'm looking forward to the stakes again. I think a lot of the horses are staying here, so they're all going to be in the same boat.”

Lynch is a two-time meet leading rider at Pimlico Race Course, owning 526 career North American victories and nearly $19 million in purses earned, according to Equibase statistics. He is the younger brother of Laurel-based trainer Cal Lynch.

A former champion apprentice in England, Lynch rode Caribou Club to a record-setting victory in the 2019 Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3) at Laurel, setting the Dahlia turf course mark of 1:33.35 for one mile.

Lynch was also the regular rider of retired multiple graded-stakes winning millionaire Irish War Cry during his undefeated 2-year-old season of 2016 that included a win in the Marylander, now Heft Stakes.

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Jockey Devin Magnon ‘Progressing Very Well’ After Jan. 14 Spill At Delta

Jockey Devin Magnon is expected to make a full recovery from a serious fall at Delta Downs in Vinton, La. on Jan. 14, reports the Daily Racing Form. The rider's mount fell on top of him, causing a trio of fractures in his back, 10 broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a fractured pelvis, and a punctured lung.

Magnon underwent surgery and has two rods in his back to stabilize his spine.

“He's progressing very well,” agent Wes Landry told drf.com. “I saw him today. Stopped and checked on him. He looked great, sounded great. He was in real good spirits and anxious to keep going forward.”

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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Jockey Told She’d Never Walk Again, Back In The Saddle After Nightmare Fall

Maija Vance, the jockey who was told she would never walk again after a horrific race fall, has started riding trackwork in the latest stage of an extraordinary recovery from life-changing injuries.

In September 2018 the 29-year-old suffered 13 rib fractures and broke her back in five places with the T8 vertebra crushing her spinal cord and leaving her with no feeling or movement from the waist down.

Now she is riding out for trainer Tarissa Mitchell and even talking of one day “riding on racedays” again.

“I'm doing really good,” she said in an interview with Radio TAB Australia. “I've been working very closely with my physio, trying to get back to riding racehorses. So I've just started back on the track now and it's going really, really well.

“I'm just riding some quiet ones pacework, and hopefully will work up from there. I'm riding work for Tarissa Mitchell. She also had an accident a couple of years ago. She's been really helpful and understands.

“It's hard for me to put timeframes on things because my legs don't work like a normal person's, so I kind of just have to try and see what works for them and how long they take to recover, so I leave a few days in between when I ride trackwork to let them recover properly. Then I put my irons up a little bit and ride a bit shorter.

”I'm in a little bit of pain all the time but pain doesn't really affect me that much. The more I do in the gym and the more trackwork I do, the more I am strengthening up my back – and the more I can strengthen the better protected it is.”

Vance, from Cambridge, New Zealand, spent three months in Auckland's Spinal Rehabilitation Unit, where feeling gradually returned, and after 18 months which included time in a wheelchair and using a walker, she completed a 526-step climb to the top of Mount Maunganui.

Doctors said former jockey wouldn't walk again – but now she can climb a mountain.

She is the daughter of former jockey-turned-trainer Bob Vance, a Cox Plate winner in the saddle, and jockey Jenny Vance, who rode in her native Sweden as Jenny Moller.

Maija has ridden 175 winners in New Zealand and Australia but was having only her fourth ride over jumps when she came down on Zedsational in a hurdle race at Arawa Park. The horse's trainer Glynn Brick spent many hours with Vance while she was in hospital, but died in a car crash in March.

“They said it was pretty unlikely that I would walk again,” said Vance. “I had 13 rib fractures, which were probably the most painful. The ribs punctured my lungs so they filled up with blood and they had to drain my lungs. I had five vertebrae broken and when the T8 broke it crushed my spinal cord which was what left me paralyzed.

“Glynn Brick was there with me the whole time. He got to see me walking the mountain, which made him really happy. Glynn would have never put me on something he thought would fall, it was just very unlucky. He felt absolutely terrible. Unfortunately he passed away a few months ago.”

Nearly NZ$40,000 (£21,000) was raised to help Vance get the help she needed to walk again. Her story has been described as inspirational.

“I don't think so,” she said. “I think I am just very lucky.”

This story was originally published at horseracingplanet.com and is reprinted here with permission.

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