Talented young trotter sidelined

Northern Victorian harness racing couple Graham and Tanya McDermott are facing a second long stint of care and rehabilitation to get their promising young trotter Heres to You Jimmy back to full health.

Heres To You Jimmy (Bacardi Lindy-Singing Creek (Wind Cries Maori) was super impressive in making up huge ground to win at his first start back in August, then backed up for a second win two weeks later.

But the three-year-old broke unexpectedly in running during a heat of the Victoria Derby at Maryborough two Sundays ago, and was later found to have suffered a fractured pastern.

Heres To You Jimmy made an awesome debut in winning at Shepparton August

"It was pretty much a case of the fairytale turning into a little bit of a nightmare," McDermott said.

"He put in a couple of rough strides earlier in the race, but I didn't spend too long wondering what it was about because he just started trotting again nicely. Then he galloped suddenly and that was obviously when the injury happened," he said.

"So that night we had him at the Victorian Equine Group's Bendigo Hospital and they operated on him the next morning."

McDermott's wife Tanya, who coordinates Harness Racing Victoria's Hero Rehoming Program, said they were relieved to now have Heres To You Jimmy back home in his box – two fractures, five screws, 10 days in hospital and a whole lot lighter.

Five screws have stabilised Heres To You Jimmy’s two fractures

"The team at the Victorian Equine Group showed amazing care and devotion and we're grateful to them beyond words," she said.

"The mountain is yet to be conquered, but he has a fighting chance. First and foremost, we'll just look after his wellbeing and just wait to see if that is good enough for him to make a comeback.

It's the second time that Heres To You Jimmy has faced a long recovery from a serious leg injury.

"He had a fracture to his offside front fetlock 18 months ago, but that time there was no surgery needed, just compression bandaging to support the joint, and rest and recovery," McDermott said.

"This time it's a bit more complicated than that, but fortunately he's a lovely horse to deal with – he's a little bit revvy on the racetrack, but off the track he is a little gem with a lovely nature.

"He needs to have rest for the next four to six weeks, so hopefully his good temperament will work in our favor and he will settle in the box to give himself the best chance of a good recovery. That's the main thing at the moment, just doing our best for him."

McDermott said Heres To You Jimmy's operation had gone well, but his post-surgery recovery was not trouble free.

"The vets thought it would be reasonably straightforward and initially gave him a 75 percent chance of getting back to the races. But there are always little hurdles along the way and after a couple of days he became quite lame," McDermott said.

"Initially they believed he had only one fracture, but then found fractures in two places and were concerned one had spiralled, meaning the pastern could be a bit more unstable, so they thought he might have been in real trouble at one stage."

McDermott said the veterinary team was reluctant to do any more surgery unless it was absolutely necessary.

"With the risks of getting him on and off the table and the possibility of him doing more damage, they just decided to hold off and see how he went – and fortunately he started to turn the corner about a week later," he said.

"The next four weeks will be critical, and we just have to keep him quiet to give everything the best chance of holding together. Hopefully he will look after himself too, because one of the risks is that if he lies down, he could hurt himself getting up."

Terry Gange

NewsAlert PR Mildura