Track royalty not easily dethroned TOM BOSWELL
THE KING OF THE COAST IS BACK, WITH SITTING DOWN WITH DAN GRIFFIN AHEAD OF THE CHAMPION JOCKEY’S RETURN TO AQUIS PARK TODAY
DAN Griffin says his dream of winning 10 jockeys premierships is still alive as he prepares to make his anticipated return to racing at the Gold Coast today.
Dubbed “The King of the Coast” for his winning ways, Griffin will race for the first time in eight months at Aquis Park after successfully bouncing back from a serious shoulder injury he believed could have ended his career.
The 37-year-old lives on the Sunshine Coast but said it was special to make his return to the track he calls home.
“I’m so excited (to be back),” Griffin said.
“Sitting on the sidelines is so frustrating. You put in a lot of hard yards in to get to where you want to be so to be sidelined is very hard.
“Although I don’t live here anymore, the support the Gold Coast Turf Club and trainers give me is paramount. This is my backyard and I love it.”
Griffin snapped the tendon off his shoulder and broke the bone at its base when a horse went off in the barriers and dislodged him in
May last year. He continued to ride for another month – despite his shoulder constantly dislocating in races – hole chasing an eighth premiership along with a third provincial hoops title.
Griffin revealed there were stages where he thought his career may be over but said he now had years left.
“My goal was to always win 10 premierships and without injury I would have more than likely notched them up,” Griffin said.
“As long as the body holds up I’ll keep riding. I’m fitter now than I have ever been ... I’m dedicated more than I have ever been before.”
It isn’t just Griffin’s body that is in good condition, but his mind. Griffin returns refreshed after being able to spend more time at home with partner Jana and daughters Ayla, 6, and Codi, 18.
“The body gets a little bit tired usually,” Griffin said.
“We put it under a fair bit of punishment with sweating, wasting and a lot of dieting and with recurring injuries so it gets a bit taxing.”
Griffin, eight wins shy of 1000, said his recovery was easier than when he underwent knee surgery in 2012.
TRAINER Stuart Kendrick expects Direct Action to continue his winning form today and secure redemption at the Gold Coast track.
The promising gelding will run in the QTIS Two-Year-Old Handicap (1300m) with Luke Tarrant on board as the pair chase a second straight win together.
Direct Action ran last on debut over 900m at the Coast in February but bounced back to claim his first win in a 1300m race at Ipswich.
“In the first run he got a bit lost out of the barriers and got run off his legs a bit over the 900m,” Kendrick said.
“He had a jumpout before that race and did really well so I thought he would run really well in his first start.
“He didn’t bound out of the gates, came out a bit awkwardly and got back in the field.
“Over those 900m trips you never really get a chance to pick up again.
“I was keen to get him up in trip. We stepped him up to the 1200m in Ipswich and he ran straight to the front and went on to win. In the second start he flew the gates and did everything right.”
Sunshine Coast-based Kendrick said Direct Action had lost nothing in work since the win and he believed the major challenge today would come from the extra kilogram he will carry from his first two starts.
“His work has been really good during the week and I’m really happy with him,” Kendrick said.
“He is not an overly big horse so the weight is probably the issue.
“It would have been nice to get him a little bit better on the weights but, in himself, he is really well and his work is good.”
Direct Action’s first win came on a heavy track and Kendrick said the son of More Than Ready wouldn’t have a problem with a wet Gold Coast track today.
Kendrick said Direct Action would continue to race over more ground but he would let him dictate when and just how far he goes.
“The 1400m wouldn’t worry him at this stage but we will just play it by ear,” Kendrick said.