Seasoned jockey Jim Byrne is on the comeback trail after being sidelined for a full five months following surgery on both of his knees.
Byrne is intent on re-establishing himself in the jockey ranks in Queensland, but he is under no illusions about the difficulty of the immediate task facing him.
On the physical front, Byrne is happy with his state of play, fitness-wise, at this early stage of his return.
“It was a big decision to have both knees done, because the reality is that you may not recover as well as you want to … and it is a long, long road back.
“Ask anybody who has had one knee done, let alone two knees, and they’ll understand all that is involved, but I had no option but to do it if I wanted to carry on riding. It was near impossible for me to continue if I didn’t have the surgery.
“Obviously, being out of the saddle for so long, it takes a little bit longer to get back to one hundred percent. You are expecting to have a bit of stiffness and the like, and I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t any stiffness … but, most importantly, my knees are pain free now. I’m actually over the moon with the way things have worked out after surgery.
“I’ve learnt that if I feel a bit stiff now, I can push through it. There is no backing off, I just have to push through it because there is nothing wrong with the knees now … it’s just muscle and ligament stiffness and that will go in time.
“There are no restrictions on my knees anymore … which is great. It is definitely refreshing to know that I can go out there with confidence that my knees, which caused me so much pain and trouble in the past, are fine.
But physical priorities aside, Byrne is well aware of the fact that the changing face of the Brisbane jockey room might prove to be the biggest hurdle of all to overcome as he tries to climb back up the mountain.
“There has been a lot of changes … with jockeys moving up to Queensland, so the riding scene is more competitive than ever,” said Byrne.
“A lot happens in five months and coming back from that length of time away is difficult anyway, but with so many jockeys riding here, getting rides is at a premium … and I mean getting rides at trials, never mind race rides.
As far as race rides are concerned, there are just so many riders and only so many rides … and, of those, there is only a handful of good rides in most races and the jockeys who have been kicking goals left, right and centre … they are generally, and understandably, locked into those rides.”
“Of course, it has always been like that to some degree over the years.
“So, no, because of that difficulty in merely getting rides, I’m not restricting my number of rides and easing my way back into it,” explained Byrne. “For me, as I alluded to previously, it is very much a case of ‘get what you can’ at the moment. It is very much like that, and I can understand the difficulties some managers must be having getting rides for their jockeys.”
“I knew what I was coming back into. I’m probably in a half fortunate position in that, although I’ve been out of it for five months, I am known to many of the owners and trainers. They know of me, and they know what I am capable of doing … you could say I’m like a piece of furniture around the place.
“Whether there is any advantage in that, I don’t know. I just have to work at and follow what I hope will be a natural progression … and that is starting off by getting what rides I can. I am happy to just punch them around at the moment, do my best on my rides and hope to then build on that and get more rides and then better rides … hopefully, gradually working all the way back up to earn good rides.
“I’m under no illusions about the task ahead. Breaking back in was never going to be easy … was never going to be any overnight success story, but that doesn’t mean that my time has come to an end. I feel I’ve got more to give.
“All I can do is focus on myself. Whatever happens I’m going to give it my best shot and give it all I have got. I’m working pretty hard trying to make sure I’m giving myself the best chance of being on track to get back to where I want to be.”
“It is a challenge … but I here, and I don’t intend going anywhere soon.”
*Byrne, a multiple Group 1 winning jockey and a multiple Brisbane Jockey’s Premiership winner, returned to race action on Ipswich last Wednesday (October 18) with just a single ride for his good friend, trainer Desleigh Forster, which was his first race ride since May 10. That was followed by two rides at Gatton last Friday and another two in town at Eagle Farm on Saturday … the last two of which were $31 and $81 chances.
Byrne has two rides at Eagle Farm today, Birmingham (Race 2) and Tavis Town (race 5) are both $26 chances.
