The good and bad of Racing

Hey Folks, thanks for checking in once more for another interesting edition of Magic! 

Well this weekend has really highlighted the up's and down's of racing for me. 

Has been a good week of running, been hitting every session well, under poor weather conditions but with a good crew it make's it that much easier. 

Have also managed to finish my latest book about surfer Mark Occhilupo, a great read even if you don't like surfing, great read on life, and challenges, and tempations...here is a clip of Occy in action

My next book is called "What makes your brain happy and why you should do the opposite". Looks very interesting so will keep you informed. 

But getting back to the title of the blog. The Good and Bad of racing has been highlighted this weekend, with a special mate of mine and Aquanita's finest apprentice Gemma. Gemma had a fall at trackwork on Saturday morning and by all reports seemed quite a simple fall, i was following about 800m behind her with another great mate Pat Carbery, when we wheeled around the corner flat out to see Gem laying motionless on the track, and a track staff member Dave, who was waving at us to go aronud, luckily thanks to Dave we spotted Gemma on the track and narrowly avoided her. But as i went past i couldnt help but feel sick as she was laying face down with her shoulder in an impossible position. As Pat and I pulled up and walked back in, it appeared she still had not moved (I'm told afterwards she had been moving before we got back to where she was). It was about 10mins until i could get someone to take my horse so that i could get out and see how she was, and was very relieved to see her laughing, talking and crying...Sounds tough but once i heard she could feel her feet and hands and was concious, usually that means anything else will mend...thats the bad part of racing, the risks associated with the sport. 

The good however is the reaction from the racing community, it can be very fickle at times and seem its very dog eat dog industry, but to hear how many people ask how she is, how many people have sent things to her and visited her has been a timely reminder the industry really is very close. The track was closed for close to an hour, and I didnt hear anyone sook or whinge about them taking their time to get her off the track. The staff at Ascot Racetrack First Aiders need to be congratulated on the way they handled the situation. 

Fingers Crossed Doubles can make a speedy and full recovery.

I'm looking to have another solid week of training, reading and enjoying the 34 degrees expected tomorrow! Beach Time!

RD