It has been said, many times, that somebody is going to come back ‘bigger and better’ after a break, but the difference between those who conquer that challenge and those who simply talk about it, is the hard yards that have to be followed if that goal is to be achieved.
Jockey Mark Du Plessis, for one, is currently putting in that special, extra effort required to meet those demands and he looks to be very much on the right road to meet his target as he nears a return to the saddle a month after having his last race ride at the Sunshine Coast on February 26.
In his time off, Du Plessis has focussed are two primary fitness issues.
In the first place, an ankle problem, which Du Plessis has carried for a long nine years, has been resolved. The ankle injury basically related to a foreign body which formed a growth inside the ankle which got entangled with tissue causing Du Plessis on-going discomfort and pain.
Ultimately, Du Plessis deemed it time to sort the matter out once and for all during this short break from race-riding … and the surgery went well.
“They initially told me they were just going to do a local,” explained Du Plessis, “but then, the day before, they told me to bring an overnight bag, just in case they put you under.
“When I got there, they said they were going to put me under. They said they were not sure for how long, but they thought it would probably be an hour … well, it took two hours for them to clean it all up.
“I saw a specialist two weeks after that and he was very happy. It’s healed pretty well. It’s going to be sensitive for a little while in the short-term, but that is understandable.”
First box ticked!
Step two:
Not forgetting the bigger picture, Du Plessis has also turned serious attention at this time to his overall level of fitness, looking to raise the bar in that regard.
“I used to do a lot of cardio. I used to do a lot of running, but when I broke my back some years ago that just went out the window. It got too sore and too niggly,” said Du Plessis. “So, I can’t really run anymore.
“Other than that, the back hasn’t been a problem at all. It’s just been the ankle that had been giving me grief.
“My manager Cameron Partington put me on to Mick Coorey, who is a friend of his. Mick has got his own gym down at Clayfield and, with the issues that I have had, he knows how to build somebody up and make them stronger.
‘I’ve had two one hour sessions with him so far. It’s all strength and conditioning training … pretty much working on my core, shoulders and my lower back I guess … a sort of all-over body workout.
“I feel this is a very positive move I have made in my career. It’s obviously for my general health as well, but I can already feel the difference in the saddle … I felt that today when I went to the trials. I only had three trials, but I felt really good.
“It’s a different type of fitness, but I just think, especially in your forties, you just need that extra little bit of help and if I can get some sort of extra edge out of doing it, that’s what I am aiming for.
“I’m sitting on nineteen Group 1 wins at the moment. I’d love to make it twenty … more if I can.
“Of course, I have to get a ride in a Group 1 in the first place … let alone a good one … but I believe it can happen.
“I do know that, after these three weeks or so that I have taken off, it is going to be hard initially to get back to where I was, which was in a happy sort of rhythm. I wasn’t getting a lot of rides, but I was still riding winners, generally, pretty much every week … but at least I know I’m working as hard as I can to bring it all together.”
Du Plessis’s record of achievement and riding expertise, which has brought him success in different international racing precincts over many years, should bring added value to any ride he gets, but, as he says, you have to get the rides in the first place.
That is just another challenge he will face when he steps back into action in the highly competitive riding ranks in South-East Queensland.
Certainly, whatever happens next, Du Plessis efforts to improve his future returns in the saddle simply cannot be faulted.
