How this jockey lost 6kg in just two weeks
JOCKEY Chris Caserta’s last proper meal consisted of “two or three” celery sticks for dinner last Thursday.
Earlier that day he had a handful of lettuce leaves with two slices of tomato for lunch. He hasn’t eaten since in a final bid to strip down to 44kg to ride explosive twoyear-old filly Jedastar in today’s Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington.
The Melbourne-born Adelaide jockey succeeded yesterday, making the weight before his head hit the pillow last night. It marked the end of a two-week 6kg shedding process for the natural lightweight, who sits at about 50kg.
Apart from eating leafy greens or nothing at all, Caserta spent hours walking in the gym, wasting in the sauna and driving around Adelaide and Melbourne in sweat gear with the “heater on full bore”.
“I’ve been a natural lightweight, so I’ve never had to sweat for a ride, but I think having the two weeks to prepare my body for it will be the best thing for me,” Caserta said. “I haven’t done anything like this before, if I was to leave it for the last three days I think my body would go into shock and I’d have no energy at all come Saturday.”
There is light at the end of the tunnel for Caserta, 23, who win, lose or dead-heat plans to dine out (as best he can) on homemade Italian sausages tomorrow at Casa Caserta in Tullamarine before he flies home.
“I love them hot, no point having them mild,” Caserta said. “I’m looking forward to them, I’ll tell you that.”
His problem — almost cruelly — is being able to stomach food after the meticulous fast.
“I’ll probably have two bites of something and be full. If I try and force myself to eat I’ll probably end up throwing it back up,” Caserta said.
“It will take me about a week [to get back to 50kg] just because my stomach has shrunk that much that I won’t be able to eat as much as I’m used to.”
Under the weight-for-age conditions of the $750,000 sprint, Jedastar gets 14.5kg from topweight Osborne Bulls and 9.5kg from Coolmore winner and Lightning favourite Sunlight.
History is against Jedastar despite that advantage, but former international taekwondo representative Caserta is convinced Sunlight will need to be at her “very best” to win.
The late Colin Hayestrained Desirable is the last two-year-old to win the Lightning, back in 1976.
Jedastar has worked superbly since running second in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Fillies Preview (1000m) at Caulfield last month.
“Sunlight is definitely the one to beat … but I think a lot of people will be surprised with the outcome,” Caserta said. “It will take a very smart and good horse to run me down, hopefully.”
Jedastar romped to a 2½length debut victory on New Year’s Day over 1000m at Flemington. Trainer Lloyd Kennewell said that experience and weight relief made the Lightning a target.