Back in saddle, but not in a rush

WHEN Linda Meech tried literally to get back on the horse last month, she couldn’t.

But on Saturday at Donald, just over two months after she broke her collarbone in a fall at Geelong, the Victorian jockey’s premiership leader will be back race riding in pursuit of her first title.

Despite not riding since April 17, Meech has maintained her lead in the premiership having netted 114 winners before her injury.

John Allen is next best with 111 but the combination of suspensions, and a trip home to Ireland, make it unlikely he will catch Meech before the end of the season on July 31.

Jye McNeil (95) is third and closing and Meech said she had glanced at the premiership numbers “a couple of times” during her lay-off.

But the 38-year-old said she wouldn’t take any risks with not only her own safety, but also those around her before coming back.

She said chasing a title was never a priority.

“It would be great to win a premiership, but there’s no point risking a career to do it,” she said. “You have to be strong, because it’s dangerous, and you don’t want to put anyone else in danger because you aren’t capable of doing the job.

“I just want to go back 100 per cent.”

Getting back to that level took more time than Meech initially thought.

She got a “reality check” when she first tried to jump back on a horse too.

“I went to spring on one, like I always have, but I had to be legged up,” she said.

“It was the day before I got clearance to ride work, but I wanted to see where I was at.

“It was something I normally do every day, and I couldn’t even get on. I just couldn’t physically do it.”

Meech, who also holds a training licence, took her time, started trotting on her own horses, then got back into trackwork and rode in some official trials at Ballarat last Friday.

Her shoulder came through the work well, and more trackwork this week was enough to give her the confidence she could get back to the races.

But Meech, who had 640 rides this season before her fall, said she wouldn’t be over-committing herself with bookings, content to just take a few rides per meeting as she works her way back.

“Jye might catch me. I’m not going to go hammer and tongs. I’m going to look after myself,” she said. “I just want to get really fit before I put myself under too much pressure. I just want to get back.” TRAINER Robbie Griffiths is confident recent experience racing on the straight course at Flemington will stand Halvorsen in good stead for his attempt to win the Listed A.R. Creswick Stakes.

Griffiths was keen to run the talented sprinter at Flemington in the lead-up to Saturday’s Listed Creswick Stakes (1200m) for three-yearolds because he believes horses generally improve from the experience.

Halvorsen was narrowly beaten by Gytrash in a 1000mstraight race at Flemington last Saturday week, but Griffiths said the gelding did more than enough to indicate he was on track to be a force to be reckoned with on Saturday.

“I thought it was outstanding,” Griffiths said.

“I was happy to run a place because experience has taught me most horses improve a lot with their first run down the straight. He had not had a run for a month and he is probably better at 1100 and 1200m than over 1000m.

“So throwing all of those factors into the mix and seeing him run so close to a really good horse in Gytrash, I left Flemington very happy that we’re on target to be a great chance in the Creswick. He’s had experience down the straight now so I’d like to think we can be a winning chance.”