Currie on run back to fitness
TOP jockey Luke Currie is running up to 60km a week as he heads along the comeback trail from spinal fractures.
The 38-year-old plans to return to trackwork in midAugust, with a view to be race riding by the end of the month.
Currie sustained spinal fractures, broken ribs, a chipped thumb bone and concussion in a fall after the post at the Valley in February, the night before he was to ride Hanseatic in the Group 1 Blue Diamond.
“I got the all-clear from the surgeon the other day with the CT scan, but he wants me to wait another month to make it six months from date of injury, just to be sure,” he said.
“It’s hard for them to tell when it’s fused, (if I was to fall) whether it is ready to cop an impact like that.”
Currie was in top form before the fall, but the forced absence has rejuvenated the nine-time Group 1 winner.
“I have been removed from that (COVID-19 toll on racing), which might be a blessing in disguise. I’ll come back refreshed and hopefully be able to pick up a few rides over the spring,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to hopefully getting back on Hanseatic — to trial him and possibly ride him again this time in. I’d like to.”
Currie has pounded the pavement to get back to fitness, along with weights and exercise bike routines. He has also had the loan of a mechanical horse.
“I have been doing quite a lot of running the last month and a half because the first three months I was in a neck brace and couldn’t really do anything,” Currie said.
“I’ve built it up to 60km a week now – and a bit on the bike. I can’t ride a normal bike just in case I fall off.
“It’s a shame with the pools closed, so probably means I’m doing more running.”
Currie still experiences some numbness, “a different sensation” in his left thumb and two fingers, which “may never go away”.
“It doesn’t affect my strength or anything, it’s just a different feeling,” Currie said.
“It’s there, but it’s not an inconvenience at all — definitely not stopping me from doing anything at the moment.
“But the test will be when I do get back to trackwork
“If I could ride work now, I’d be at the track tomorrow.”