Kerrin McEvoy aiming for late May return

Kerrin Mcevoy hopes to be back riding towards the end of May as he continues his recovery from a spinal fracture suffered in a race fall at Rosehill on Golden Slipper day.

The top jockey injured his C6 vertebrae when he was dislodged from Tintookie in the Birthday Card Stakes on March 23, but thankfully the injury didn’t require surgery.

It had healed sufficiently for him to be walking around on Saturday at Randwick to watch two of his sons, Rhys and Jake, compete in the pony races, with McEvoy hoping to be back in the saddle himself next month.

“The fracture was to the back wing (of the C6 vertebrae) and the doctor was pretty happy with it. It was stable,” McEvoy said.

“I had a scan a couple of weeks ago that he was happy with, then I see him again next week and hopefully I might be back riding trackwork in the middle of May.

“I had a good rest initially because it was quite stiff and sore, but I’ve felt nice improvement each week which is positive.”

McEvoy said he wouldn’t be pushing himself to get back to race riding by a particular date and would base his comeback on medical advice and how his body was feeling.

“It has been a month today, so I’ll just build up and get fit again,” he said on Saturday.

“I’d rather get feeling good again and if I have to give it another week or two, so be it.”

The top jockey’s sons didn’t get the blue ribbon in the National Pony Racing Series Finals at Randwick, but McEvoy said the kids involved had enjoyed an incredible build up to the day.

The series, a partnership between Thoroughbred Industry Careers and Pony Club Australia, involved qualifying races across five Australian states with 20 children participating across the two Finals.

The initiative is aimed at encouraging more young people to get involved with horses and racing and McEvoy said the week had included visits to Godolphin, along with racing stables at Randwick and Warwick Farm.

“The kids were taking the pony’s temperatures, heart rates, filling out forms morning and afternoon and learning about caring for their ponies as well as getting them fit for the race,” he said.

“It was great to see all the kids with smiles on their faces.”