Honeymoon can wait for Summer Carnival
MATT McGillivray put his honeymoon on hold and short-circuited recommended recovery time so he could ride talented mare Shesees Everything in tomorrow’s Legacy Fillies and Mares Classic at Doomben.
McGillivray recently married his longtime partner Aimee after earlier this year welcoming their son Max to the family. The wedding coincided with McGillivray spending time on the sidelines after fracturing a rib in a fall at Beaudesert on October 23.
“We’ve had to set aside the honeymoon for the moment and besides, I’m pretty sure after being at home those couple of weeks, Aimee was keen to get me out of the door,” McGillivray said.
“I just sat on the couch for three weeks and did nothing.”
McGillivray returned to riding with three mounts at Doomben last Saturday and also rode a couple each at Caloundra (Sunday) and Ipswich (Wednesday).
“The doctors originally said the injury would need six weeks, but I was desperate to get back and ride Shesees Everything in this race so I came back early,” he said.
“She’s an exciting horse. I’m glad I got back a week earlier to get back into the swing of things and get the fitness up.
“Hopefully we can have a bit of luck and she can win on Saturday. The rain we’ve had will definitely help, as she really loves it with a bit of sting out of the track.”
Shesees Everything, which McGillivray won on in June and August, is rated a $4.80 chance with Ladbrokes, behind Plucky Girl ($3.80) and Stella Victoria ($4.40).
Gerald Ryan scratched talented mare Problem Solver and will instead run at Rosehill. She will then head to Wyong before running at Doomben on December 29 ahead of the Magic Millions F&M on January 12.
McGillivray was part of Racing Queensland’s TAB Summer Carnival Launch at Victoria Park Golf Club yesterday. Racing Minister Stirling Hinchliffe noted the passion for racing in Queensland “which was reiterated to me and right across government in recent times” in reference to negotiations that netted the industry a $26 million annual windfall in November.
“The Summer Carnival is another chance for Queensland racing to shine,” he said.
Racing Queensland Chief Executive Brendan Parnell said it was planned to take the $15 million summer carnival to “new heights”.