Albarado Is On The Road To Recovery
Louisiana Champion jockey Robby Albarado had been away from the races since January 2, 2011. On that day a horse named Molly’s Misbehaving flipped over and pinned him against the tunnel wall leaving the paddock and put the 37 year-old rider on the injured reserve list for the second time in just five months, this time with a broken heel. “The minute it happened, I knew it wasn’t good. At first I thought I broke my ankle, but the pictures showed it was my heel. A freak accident, but one of the hazards of the business.”
Four months prior Robby was hurt in another freak accident in New York at the Saratoga meeting. “I was galloping out after a race and the horse I’m on stumbles and off I go. I hit the ground and broke my collarbone and a bone in my hand. That put me on the shelf for the rest of the Saratoga meeting and a little longer. I’ve been hurt a number of times and broken a lot of bones, but I always try to work hard to heal up and focus on what’s in front of me.”
Robby did just that and riding only his second mount back won a $1 million dollar race in Canada. “I’m fortunate to be able to ride good horses and that win put me right back in the “refuse to loose” mode. Winning has a way of making everything better.”
After the January mishap, Robby knew his injury was not something that was going to go away overnight or in a couple of weeks. “This injury, this broken heel, was the most painful I have ever experienced and believe me, I have been banged-up pretty good on a number of occasions. It swelled-up real bad, so the doctors had to alleviate that before they could even consider doing surgery. Two weeks after I broke it, they did surgery and put a plate and six screws in three places in my heel. They literally put my heal back together with metal and told me it could take anywhere between three and six months to get back to the races.”
After the surgery Robby’s rehab program started and the goal was to be back sometime in March, in less than three months. “I always set my goals to return much sooner than the doctors project, so I work twice as hard at rehabbing whatever needs to be fixed. At first I had to keep weight off the heel and used crutches, so my rehab workouts were very limited. That time was the “hurry up and wait” part of healing up.
The next steps were stretching to keep my heel mobile and not have my tendons shrink and contract. Now, I’m putting weight on it and I’m getting closer to riding every day.”
Robby admits this is a tough time of year to be on the sidelines and out of action. “It’s always tough to be sitting out for any amount of time, but this is the time of year that jockeys are trying to secure mounts that are headed to the big races on the first Friday and Saturday in May at Churchill Downs. I’m trying to get back in action to ride the last two weeks of this meet and hopefully secure my Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby mounts.
Believe it or not, but I’m pretty sure that my agent (Lenny Pike) and I have lined-up mounts for both the Fair Grounds Oaks and the Louisiana Derby. I really can’t say what we have in the works yet, but I’m very excited about the conversations we’ve had with a couple of trainers. The possibilities are good and I’m rehabbing like I’ve never rehabbed before.”
Albarado has been the leading rider at this local meeting seven times, but this year it was not in the cards to add title number eight. What was in the cards was the opportunity to spend more time with his wife and three children. “I’m getting older and wiser and I’m realizing what’s important in every aspect of my life. I’m learning how to take care of my body, how to make it stronger and hopefully more durable. I’m enjoying spending this time with my kids, taking them to school and family functions. The one plus to this time off is being with Kimber and the kids.
We’re all going to Disney World next Friday and after we hangout with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy for a few days, it’ll be back to business to finish out this meet. I’ll start getting on horses on the 11th or 12th and hopefully ride the last two weeks.”
I asked Robby if the injuries had ever made him think about slowing down or even retiring. I knew exactly what his answer was going to be and sure enough, he didn’t let me down. “No way! I love what I do and where I get to do it. Sometimes I get a little discouraged when something crazy knocks me out of action, but there’s always that chance for the next “good” horse.
I’m going to have two good weeks to finish-up here and Keeneland and Churchill are right around the corner. I’m looking forward at what I’ve got coming up. I’m certainly not looking back. It’s spring time and the Derby winner is still out there. I just have to find him.”
“Rockin” Robby Albarado - you gotta love him.