Jockeys habitually play down the gravity of their injuries but that doesn’t stop the rest of us from seeing through their words to the truth. Bryony Frost’s description of her internal injuries, published on Tuesday, struck me as being remarkably cool in the circumstances, though I suppose she’s had weeks to become accustomed to the detail.
The really chilling bit was buried in the fifth paragraph of the statement issued on her behalf. “I also had an unusual injury to the artery to my pancreas,” it began. Well, that can’t be good. Any arterial injury is best avoided, I’d say, unusual injuries still more so.
Evidently, the artery in question was one of the various bits of Bryony that were trodden on by a horse after her recent fall at Newton Abbot. She reports that it “started to swell, causing a sac called an aneurysm.”
Then comes a sentence which, on the page, appears calmly stated but in reality must represent a quantity of alarm that would make your eyes bulge. “Fortunately this did not leak,” she says, “which can be life threatening.” Yes, I imagine it would be life-threatening, if one of your arteries started leaking inside you. Can you imagine if your child was a jump jockey? This kind of stuff would come up all the time.
Anyway, Frost sounds her usual chipper self, which is splendid, and she dutifully says all the right things about wanting to come back, though evidently it’s going to take a month or more. In the meantime, let’s give thanks for the fact that there’s still enough of her left to make a comeback, and also for the dozens of jockeys who run similar risks every day.
And so to Sandown this evening, where the nap goes in a mile handicap. Employer (8.00) is by no means an easy ride, has been hanging in his races and blew his chance completely at Chelmsford two runs ago but James Doyle is the jockey who has coped best with him and they are reunited for the first time since winning at Windsor in May.
That race has worked out well and Employer looks well treated if he can get his act together in this small field. The first-time blinkers will hopefully give him some focus and 5-1 looks big to me, even with a couple of recent winners lined up against him.
I love a course specialist at Catterick and Merry Banter (4.10) looks like one, with a record of 3121 at the Scotch Corner venue, being beaten by just a neck when second there. Back she goes for the first time since scoring by daylight there in May and still on what looks a beatable rating. She’s 4-1 and seeming to attract some interest as I type.
Roger Fell and Ben Sanderson have been a partnership worth following this year and perhaps they can strike again in the apprentice race at the end of the card with Zihaam (5.45). In his last four starts, this chestnut has won twice, the defeats coming in more valuable York handicaps. He still has scope for another win or two at this level and 3-1 is fine.
Bath 2.00 Cubswin 2.30 Matchmaking 3.00 Glens Wobbly 3.30 More Than Likely 4.00 Amberine 4.30 Bath And Tennis 5.00 Rastacap
Catterick 2.10 Kuwait Station 2.40 Go Annie Go 3.10 Immokalee 3.40 Dandy Highwayman 4.10 Merry Banter (nb) 4.40 Cupid's Arrow 5.10 Searanger 5.45 Zihaam
Lingfield 1.50 Vixen 2.20 American Patrol 2.50 Sky Marshal 3.20 Capla Gilda 3.50 Rebel Assault 4.20 Isle Of Wolves 4.50 Curious Fox
Leicester 5.30 Carlovian 6.00 Sigrid Nansen 6.30 Oneovdem 7.05 Mutadaffeq 7.40 Jupiter 8.10 Iconic Belle 8.40 Laubali
Sandown 5.50 Lyrica's Lion 6.20 Heartwarming 6.55 Anonymous John 7.25 Magical Effect 8.00 Employer (nap) 8.30 Just In Time
