Injured jockey Ric McMahon’s disappointment at missing the Magic Millions carnival has been softened by the knowledge he will soon be reunited with outstanding prospect Better Than Ready.
The Kelly Schweida-trained colt, who has won four of his six starts, broke Northern Meteor’s Randwick 1200m record when he ran 1:08.19 in the Sir Brian Crowley Stakes in October.
Schweida has tentatively named the Royal Sovereign Stakes as an early campaign target for Better Than Ready who might have one lead-up run in Brisbane at the end of this month.
McMahon suffered a dislocated AC joint and rib cartilage damage when he was involved in a fall at the Sunshine Coast early last month.
He will have his final physiotherapy session on Monday and expects to receive a medical clearance this week to enable him to resume riding.
“I figure if I’m good enough to ride trackwork then I’ll be good enough to ride on raceday,” he said.
“It’s not a hundred per cent that I’ll be riding this Saturday but, if not, it will definitely be the following week.”
McMahon watched Better Than Ready’s barrier trial at Doomben last Tuesday when he finished fifth of eight runners in an 820m heat with Michael Cahill aboard.
“He seemed to go pretty well and he’ll trial again in two weeks so I’ll be back to ride him then which is something to look forward to,” he said.
Watching the Magic Millions carnival unfold has been tough for McMahon but he has vowed to make up for lost time when he resumes riding.
“I was going quite well and had some momentum coming into the Magic Millions carnival when I had the fall but I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things as quickly as I can,” he said.
Sitting idle was difficult for McMahon during the early stages of his recovery.
“I had to rest my shoulder as much as I could which meant I wasn’t able to move around much,” he said.
