Jockeys hungry to race again

MAN cannot live on bread alone but plenty of hungry jockeys will be pushing the boundaries this week.

Riders will be sweating, starving and drinking as little as possible as they battle to get back to riding weight for the resumption of Brisbane racing on Saturday.

Many of the riders set to return at Doomben have not ridden since the last metropolitan meeting at Eagle Farm on September 22.

With EI virus shutting down Brisbane, Ipswich, Gold and Sunshine Coast racing for almost three months, some hoops chose to ride at meetings up north or in the west, but many took the opportunity to put their feet up.

Shane Scriven and Dan Griffin welcomed the break from race riding, but are paying for it now as they work to strip off weight.

Scriven, a heavyweight rider, resumed riding trackwork a week ago. At 70kg, his mounts knew he was aboard. His weight has since dropped to 64kg.

"The first 6kg is always the easiest," Scriven said. "That's not bad, but it's the next lot that will be the toughest. I would like to hope I could continue to lose a kilo a day."

Scriven hopes to be light enough to maintain his association with smart sprinter Mitanni in the Doomben Quality. There is not likely to be many other mounts available around his target of 60kg.

"I'll know on Tuesday whether I'm going to be a jockey on Saturday," he said.

"I'd love to ride the old horse (Mitanni). The owners have been loyal, but I have to wait for the weights to come out."

Griffin, last season's premier rider on the Gold Coast, will have a couple of rides at Murwillumbah tomorrow.

In just over a week, he has dropped from 62kg to about 57kg and hopes to ride at 55kg at Saturday's Gold Coast meeting.

Like Scriven, Griffin avoids red meat and his only meal of the day is dinner.

"I didn't do a lot during the break," Griffin said. "In a way it was good because constant dieting takes a toll and it is good for the body to have a rest.

"I enjoyed a bit of food for a change. After eating like a normal person, getting over the temptation to eat has been hard, but my stomach is shrinking now so the cravings are slowly going.

"Getting back to race fitness will probably take a few weeks. I've been riding barrier trials, but there is nothing like race riding to get you fit."

Queensland Racing chairman of stewards Reid Sanders said overweight riders would not receive any leeway and face normal penalties (usually a fine) for being overweight.

"Jockeys had the opportunity to ride at other meetings, which would have helped maintain their weight, so they won't be receiving leniency for infringements," Sanders said.

"Some (trackwork riders) unfortunately left the industry because of the EI crisis. Jockeys were well compensated . . . so now it's time to get out there and repay the industry by riding trackwork and barrier trials.

"That's an ideal way for them to get fit and reduce their weight"

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