Chris Symons sported a big smile as he returned to scale after a feature winner at Ballarat during his first meeting in five months.
Symons was successful aboard Murt The Flirt in Saturday’s $100,000 Magic Millions 3&4YO Classic, riding at his first meeting since suffering injuries in a race fall at Bendigo.
Murt The Flirt – Photo by Sarah Ebbett
He said the win was extra special because it came aboard a horse he has had a good association.
“This is one of the first horses I started riding when I came back (riding trackwork),” Symons said.
“It was great obviously ride the winner, but even better that I was riding for people that supported me before the accident, and that support is still there.
“Being able to do the work on that horse and then be rewarded today is pretty special.”
Symons suffered a fractured T6 vertebrae, a fractured scapula and head trauma that resulted in short-term memory loss in the fall.
But it took for him to recover from whiplash.
The Brendan McCarthy-trained Murt The Flirt ($5) had to overcome a three-wide run just off the lead from the outside barrier to defeat Wild Rain by a short head with a short neck to Illustrious Lad third.
Symons won the same race on Murt The Flirt a year ago when it was restricted to three-year-olds.
