Hastings’ jockey Amadeo Perez has a near-unassailable nine-winner advantage in the race to be crowned the track’s leading rider for a record-equalling eighth time — which is just as well, as the veteran is currently convalescing at home following a nasty fall last weekend and will miss the rest of the season.
Perez was hurled head-first into the Hastings’ dirt when his mount, Apprehend, clipped heels with a rival and fell while galloping at close to full speed in the day’s feature race. It’s a fall that happens in horse racing from time-to-time and Perez, as well as his wife and children, will be thankful that it wasn’t more serious.
“Amadeo had a concussion and will have to wear a neck brace for the next six weeks, but he’s as strong as they come and, as long as his recovery goes as planned, he’ll be back next season,” explained Perez’s agent “Trapper” Barroby.
Perez went down heavily and was unconscious for a while, forcing stewards to abandon the race while it was being run to enable the stricken rider to be appraised by waiting medics. His mount, Apprehend, suffered no injuries and walked off under his own steam. The race will be re-run on the final Saturday of the season.
The incident brought a collective gasp from the grandstand and reminded everyone present, not least Perez’ fellow riders, that danger lurks on every turn of the track. However, the inherent risks in this adrenalin-fuelled sport are also what keep us all coming back. Once riders start to worry about what can go wrong, then it may be time to consider another line of work.
“If you worry about it, then you’d better quit,” said retired jockey Richard Hamel.
Hamel, himself a five-time leading rider at Hastings, had his own fair share of thrills and spills during an illustrious Hall of Fame career.
“I didn’t get too badly injured. I broke an arm once and I broke my ankle. Most of the time I had concussions and they only took about a week. I fell once in Edmonton on a Sunday and they thought I was dead because I was knocked out cold. The horse broke my helmet and pushed it right off my head. If the chin strap hadn’t broken, he would have crushed my skull,” he said.
“I ended up with five stitches behind my ear and I was laid out cold on the track for about 20 minutes. They brought me to the hospital, did an MRI on my brain, everything was all good, and I was back riding on Wednesday.”
Hastings’ veteran rider Antonio Reyes was in the same race as Perez last weekend but only heard the commotion behind him.
“It can happen very quickly,” the Mexican explained. “You have to always be aware.”
Perez was due to ride Sunny Wishes in the big race on Saturday, the penultimate day of the season, but his place in the saddle will be taken by in-form jockey, Kimal Santo. The “next man up” philosophy, it seems, applies to racing, as much as any other sport. The Trinidadian Santo has ridden a career-best 40 winners so far this year and currently sits in second place in the standings, just those nine elusive wins behind Perez.
A talented rider, Santomay well be a beneficiary of his colleague’s time on the bench but neither he, nor any of his colleagues, will revel in Perez’ absence. They know all too well they could easily be next. Riders may chase individual glory but they win, lose and fall together. The bonhomie goes only so far, however, and they will ask and receive no quarter the next time they sit beside each other in the starting gate, knowing that things can go badly wrong in an instance but needing to do the one thing they must do: ride fast.
“Well, it certainly gets the adrenaline running, I’ll tell you that,” Richard Hamel said. “Nothing beats leaving the starting gate in a race.”
Hastings Selections:Saturday, October 11
First race: 2:30pm
Race 6. The $50,000 Glen Todd Ascot Graduation for Two-Year-Olds Ole’s Surprise stumbled leaving the gate on his debut but still ran-on well to be second. He should appreciate the extra distance and looks a major threat to likely favourite, Debrusk.