Zahra Finds Silver Lining in Superbowl Passion

News from the specialist’s office has provided Mark Zahra with the sort of relief every jockey hopes for after injury – a clear path to recovery and no major setbacks to autumn ambitions. The Caulfield and Melbourne Cup-winning rider, who fractured the top of his shin bone in a barrier incident last Thursday at Sandown, received the best possible prognosis this week, allaying fears of missing the lucrative Melbourne and Sydney autumn carnivals. According to punters.com.au, initial concerns had suggested Zahra might be facing an extended stint on the sidelines, but the diagnosis was mercifully straightforward. “It was actually really good. I had a great meeting with the specialist,” Zahra reported after receiving his assessment. “There’s no surgery needed and the ACL and PCL are all intact. There’s bad bone bruising, which they would expect but all the structures are good. He was really happy. He doesn’t need to see me again and he doesn’t need any more scans or anything.” Encouragement from his specialist extended beyond the short-term, with Zahra cleared to begin a cautious return to work ahead of the usual six-week recovery period for a leg fracture. “He said, ‘you’ll know about the three to four-week mark how you’re going’ so I’m actually going to start rehab straight away,” Zahra explained. The aim is to strike the right balance: a return as soon as safely possible, but with an eye on long-term health. “I’ll aim to get back as soon as possible without causing any more damage. He said, around the four-week mark, once it starts to heal itself, it’s a matter of whether you can manage the pain. If I came back too early, there’s a chance of knocking it and cracking it off sort of thing and it could go underneath the knee so that’s what I don’t want to happen.” Zahra will begin reducing his use of crutches from Monday and has lined up appointments with rehab specialists to tailor a strengthening plan for the coming weeks. “I’ll get a plan on what I can do and what I can’t do and go from there,” he said. “It was good news because I was getting bored. I’m happy I can start to do these things. It was a bit frustrating but with the good news, I’ve got something to look forward to, a bit of a goal.” While he’ll miss the ride on Tentyris in the Group 1 Lightning Stakes at Flemington, Zahra expects to miss just one autumn start aboard the Coolmore Stud Stakes winner. With his trademark optimism, he’s finding a silver lining – time for another passion. “I’m focused on the NFL playoffs and might be able to get to the Super Bowl,” he said. “Now that’s freed up, I’ll look at getting to that and then come back and do some race riding.” That's music to the ears of feature race punters who watched Zahra dazzle during Melbourne's Spring Carnival including an astiure ride to get Giga Kick home at $5.00 in the Gr1 VRC Champions Sprint (see below).