Donovan Dillon is back on Tuesday (photo: hamishNIVENPhotography)
After a seven week enforced break, Donovan Dillon returns to the saddle with 4 rides at Kenilworth’s midweek meeting on Tuesday, 27 February 2018.
The likeable young rider was last seen at Durbanville on 9 January, but has since been sidelined with a broken finger.
He’d actually injured himself at the New Year’s Day meeting at Durbanville, where he brought home a win, two seconds and three thirds from his six carded rides. “I broke the metacarpal in the little finger on my right hand. It happened coming out of the gates – the horse I was on came out skew and crushed my hand. I thought maybe it was just a bad sprain, although to be honest, it looked like a broken hand, rather than a sprain,” he admits wryly. But with a good card of rides for the two day 2018 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate meeting, he toughed it out, getting to within two lengths of Legal Eagle on the Glen Puller-trained Silicone Valley.
“Eventually it just got too sore and on the 9th I finally got it checked out. The doctor told me it’s broken and booked me off till the 27th. The doctor did tell me off for waiting so long, but he used to treat a lot of jockeys back in the day and is used to seeing people with broken hands, feet and ribs,” he shrugs.
Donovan has used the time off to have a long overdue break and although he’s been taking it easy, has been keeping his fitness up by running regularly. “It’s been the first time I’ve had any time off in the last 7 or 8 years, so it’s been good actually just to get my metabolism and everything back on track. I’ve been running and taking long walks to try and keep myself busy. I know it’s a different fitness to racing, but if I have sit at home the whole time I drive myself mental.”
He was back at trackwork from Thursday, 22 February, riding out for the Ramsden, Katz and Bass-Robinson strings. “I probably did a few too many on my first day back and was a bit stiff the next day, but I did grass gallops at Durbanville and galloped a few more on Saturday and am feeling much better. I’ll get back into full hard work next week.”
Donovan has a book of four rides for Kenilworth’s Tuesday meeting, including three from the Joey Ramsden string starting with Carnage in race 1, Silver Coin in race 5 and Pillar Of Hercules in race 6 and closing off with Summer Olimpics for Mike Robinson in race 8.
We look forward to seeing him back in the saddle.
