The familiar sight of Glen Boss standing high in the irons celebrating a major win will be missing this spring but the injured jockey still plans to be a presence over the carnival.
Boss suffered a broken shoulder when he hit the ground after outstanding mare Crystal Lily collapsed and died underneath him during a jumpout last Friday.
The best case scenario of two to three weeks out of the saddle proved a pipedream with the three-time Melbourne Cup-winning rider to be sidelined for two to three months.
Boss is now looking to be a part of the action as a media commentator during the big events.
“I look forward to what will be a huge spring and will probably have something to do with the media,” Boss told Sydney’s Sky Sports radio on Wednesday.
“Boredom and frustration are my biggest concerns from now on.
“I like watching the horses. You spend a lot of months getting on nice horses for the carnival and still like to watch them.”
Boss had 10 screws and a plate inserted in his injured shoulder and said while missing the carnival was a blow, it wasn’t the end of his world.
“It’s not life or death,” he said.
“It could have been a lot worse. I’ve got a lot more carnivals to look forward to.
“I’ve got to make sure to get the injury right in the first month and then look forward to the autumn.”
Boss had a lucky escape from permanent injury when he broke his neck in a fall in Macau in 2002 and spent several months in a halo brace.
He is counting himself among the lucky ones after his latest setback.
“I feel quite well, there is no tendon or nerve damage,” he said.
“I’ve got good feeling in my hand and arm.
“There are a lot of fragments and I have to keep still for the first month.
“But it could have been my neck or my head. I always look at the positives.”
Best known for his three Melbourne Cups on Makybe Diva, Boss has won a host of other Group One races and just needs the Caulfield Cup to complete racing’s grand slam, having claimed the other two legs of the Golden Slipper and Cox Plate.
AAP TURF
