Photo: Racing Photography.
Many punters had thought they had seen the last of Mathew Cahill, but the popular jockey is eyeing a remarkable return to racing.
Cahill is back riding trackwork and close to riding in trials, and the fact he is back on top of a horse is a miracle in itself.
Last April, the 55-year-old wondered if he would ride again after he was involved in a race fall at Canberra that left him with a fractured C1 vertebra.
There were some scary moments following the fall, with Cahill explaining that he couldn’t move before feeling eventually returned.
“I fell, and it wasn’t actually painful, but more a dull ache,” Cahill said.
“I’ve had a lot more painful breaks over the years, but when it first happened, I just couldn’t move.
“I couldn’t move my head off the ground, but then I could move my arms and legs, and it was a bit scary, but they did all the x-rays and scans and worked out I fractured by C1.”
Luckily, Cahill can still walk but has had to endure a long and sometimes frustrating recovery.
“They put the Halo Brace on, and that was the best way to get it to heel without surgery, and they gave it three months in the Halo Brace, and luckily, I didn’t end up needing surgery,” Cahill said.
“It’s been a pretty long, slow return, but I’m doing physio, and he’s happy with my progress, and I’m feeling pretty good now.”
The Cowra jockey admitted that he still has some improvement if he is to make a triumphant return to the races.
“I still have some pain when at the extreme end of a movement, but it’s getting better every week; I’m hoping to get to the trials in a few weeks.”
Retirement did cross Cahill’s mind, but if his body is right, the veteran jockey is more than willing to return to racing.
“The thought (of retirement) has crossed my mind, but I’m enjoying my riding, and you know yourself when your times up,” Cahill said.
“I was having quite a good season when it all happened, which is disappointing, and you want to go out on your own terms, and sometimes it’s taken out of your hands, but I’d like to make the call.
“I’ll be guided by the doctors, and I’ll know once I have a few trials, and if I’m not 100%, I won’t come back, but we’ll see how I go first.”
Punters and racing fans will hope Cahill returns to his winning ways, with the talented hoop closing in on 3000 career wins.
He was the state’s leading country jockey at the time of his fall, having ridden 82 ½ winners in just under nine months in 2021/22, and in season 2020/21, Cahill kicked home 74 ½ winners.
