David Thiselton
Following the shocking incident in the Betway Summer Cup in which two horses fell the two jockeys involved, Serino Moodley and Jarryd Penny, are on the mend and have estimated their dates of return.
In Serino Moodley’s case the incident illustrated the highs and lows of the game because the race before he had won the Gr 2 Jackpot City Dingaans on the exciting Candice Dawson-trained Trust.
He said about the unbeaten son of Heavenly Blue, “I don’t know how he is winning these races, because he is not mature and is still a big puppy. He has got a lot of improving to do, which just shows the quality of horse he is. He is a phenomenal horse.”
Serino said one of Trust’s best assets at present was “he is very economical in a race.”
That allows him to utilise his fine turn of foot as well as his most noteworthy characteristic to date of being able to find a late gear change when other horses are just trying to stay on.
Serino remembered there being room for his mount On My Honour in the Summer Cup incident and there was then suddenly no room. As he was trying to get out of it his horse clipped heels and went down, meaning Serino hit the ground hard, although he does not know what position he was in as it all happened so quickly.
He was found to have a fracture to the C6 vertebrae, which was probably why he felt pain in his arm while lying on the track.
Fortunately, the fracture is not a serious one and does not require surgery.
However, he has to wear a neck brace for three weeks and has to rest and be cautious.
He said about a possible return date to race-riding, “Hopefully by the middle of January, but it all depends on the second X-ray to see how fast everything is healing up.”
Serino is still lying third on the national jockeys log with 61 wins, despite having been out for over a week already.
He is almost certainly the most improved jockey in the country and this is partly down to his professional approach.
He said, “I have always been one who is trying to improve. No matter how well you have been riding, my main objective has always been to try and improve at every meeting I go to. I have had a lot of people helping me like Anton Marcus and Anthony Delpech and I get a lot of help from my agent Deez Dayanand and I have a big support base, my wife and kids and My Mom and Dad.”
Jarryd Penny was riding Solar Sail and he said he saw On My Honour at the last minute, “lying beneath my legs and I could not avoid him in any way.”
He recalled being surrounded by people and not being able to breath while lying on the track, but he calmed after being administered oxygen, although he had a painful sternum.
He was found to have a fractured rib, but of more concern was a cut to the liver.
He said, “Fortunately, it was not a bad cut. It is about three to four centimetres long but is classified as a Grade 3. I was discharged and don’t have to go for an operation or follow up, they just want me to rest for six weeks.”
He said about a return to riding, “They have booked me back for the 5th of January, but I will have to get some fitness back into me and ride some work, so maybe I could take a ride or two by the 10th or 12th of January.”
Jarryd is an underrated jockey who is also on the up and he gets a lot of support from Mark Khan and is the chief rider for Bridget Stidolph in Zimbabwe and rides for her in South Africa too, whilst he picks up a fair amount of rides from bigger yards.
Meanwhile, the Candice Dawson yard who train Trust have undergone a change as it will now be a joint operation, Candice and Tammy Dawson, who are reportedly the first ever sister partnership to train in South Africa.
Muzi Yeni looks to be the jockey who will be first call for the sisters while Serino is out.
