In the RXP yesterday
Odendaal plans to make a splash in his comeback
NICCI GARNER - Former champion jockey MJ Odendaal is hoping to make a comeback early next year after more than two years out of the saddle. Odendaal (41) has not been in a saddle since a horrific fall on 3 October 2007 when James Goodman-trained Royal Calibre broke down in a race at Clairwood.
He broke both collar bones and his left shoulder in three places and since then has undergone six operations.
``There was no union of the bone and my specialists were all ready to give up on me - they said I’d probably never ride again.
``Then Dr Joe de Beer, one of the top sports-injury surgeons in Cape Town, came up with another plan and put it back together again. He’s a great guy. He never lost faith. He and his staff are tremendous!’’
The last-ditch treatment of the injury did not end with the surgery - Odendaal had to give himself injections of anabolic bone-forming agent Forteo, a medication for the treatment of osteoporosis, in the stomach every morning and spend at least 20 min a day using the Exogen Ultra Sound Bone Healing System. It is an ultrasound device that is applied to the skin at the fracture site. It emits a low-intensity pulsed ultrasound signal which has been shown to stimulate genes and growth factors that are critical to a body’s natural bone healing process.
``They took all the screws and plates out less than a month ago and I’m just waiting for the holes to close up. The last x-rays were very positive. And if everything goes according to plan, I’ll be gymming, swimming and rowing at the beginning of December, my rehab for two months. Hopefully I’ll be fit enough to start riding at the end of January,’’ said the affable and flamboyant horseman, who has not wasted a moment of the last two years, which he describes as ``challenging’’.
Between doctor’s appointments, Odendaal got married - and divorced - and started breeding painted horses. ``There’s a good market for painted horses as jumpers for children because they have good temperaments and are beautiful with their multi-colours,’’ he said.
``There are pintos and painted horses: I’m mixing with them on a small scale to start off with. I’ve just bought a stallion who’s superb - he’s black to his knees and brown and white from there. Of course, cattle are still the main business on our ranch, Athole Close To Amsterdam.’’
When he feels he’s ready to start work-riding again, Odendaal plans to come back to Johannesburg where he hopes he’ll get support.
``It’s not like this was my first serious fall,’’ he comments. ``In the last decade or so I haven’t come into a streak when I’ve ridden more than three months without injury. I was out for a year when I broke my shoulder in Macau in 1999-2000 - and came back to win the champs.
``I couldn’t ride for 11 months after a fall at Newmarket when a horse stood on me and severed the vein under my arm. They had to transplant a vein from my leg into my chest and arm. Plus I’ve been out for three months with a broken leg and six weeks with a broken bone in a foot. If I was going to lose my confidence, I would have done it four or five falls ago!’’ Then he quips: ``Anyway, the man upstairs must believe I’ve had my quota now!’’
On a more serious note, he concludes: ``I’ll assure you of one thing, though. The day I step back on a racecourse, I’ll be fit and ready. Even if it takes another week or two - because I know people will judge me on my performance that day.
``I’m confident that I’ll be as good as ever... Maybe even better. And I know that I’ve got another nine or 10 good years left in me.’
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