Image: Darren Winningham
Robbie Fraud’s recovery from major, triple by-pass heart surgery is progressing quite well physically and at the same time, he continues to come to terms with the fact that he will end his forty-year career as a jockey. Could not finish. on your terms.
“I’m getting there. Still a little bit to go, but I feel a lot better than I did a week ago,” Fraud said. “I’m moving… moving. I’m on day twenty-one of Jaden Lloyd Had left the other day, it was better to leave the house.
“It’s been very important for me to rest for the first three weeks. The doctor told me it was a huge operation and he didn’t want me to overdo things… like lifting something heavy and that sort of thing, But, you know me, it’s hard to keep me in one place.
“So, I wander. I go to the shops. I can’t drive yet… so yeah, it’s kind of boring, but it’s a case of listening to the doctor.
“Earlier my lifestyle was so active… so I am not used to the change yet, but I have to. That’s the point. If I want to recover quickly, I just have to rest.
“You have to accept the reality of the situation,” Fred said. “There’s not much more you can do.
“It is a health issue and in this case, health is more important than anything else for me and my family.
“This is clearly not how I wanted to go out. Unfortunately this is a forced way out and I will have to take it from here.
“I will find something to look forward to, I am sure. When I am recovering, I will think about a few things and decide which path I will take.
“I’m probably open to all options … not just looking at opportunities in racing. I’ll look for something that isn’t too stressful.
“I’ve had forty years of it… so I’m looking for something that I’m going to enjoy at a slow pace and I’ll look forward to it. Something to keep me busy. Something that, maybe, could make a difference.
Why return is absolutely out of the question:
“Come back? No chance,” Fred said with conviction.
“I have all the staples down in the front… a titanium clamp on the top somewhere, so attempting to come back to ride would be a very unwise decision.
“Even if my heart could be good, what happens if you collapse with all that going on in your body. It’s always going to be in the back of your mind. It’s a big risk. I I’m not going to take that risk.
He said, ‘It is like that and I had to come to that decision. It was difficult, but inevitable.
“And it forces you to take stock of your life as a whole.
“I think there were a lot of contributing factors,” Frade continued. “My diet isn’t great. Lots of energy drinks probably aren’t great. Smoking isn’t great…and it was obviously the calcium build-up that caused most of my problems.
“That’s why I don’t want to go back to riding because I’d have to go back on that stupid diet… Not that I was ever that heavy… But, for example, I didn’t om race-day. ate.
“To be frank, I don’t think it’s very good for you.
“I don’t want to go back to that… So, even though my decision to retire was forced upon me for medical reasons, there were other factors that made it a difficult decision… As I say, it Was hard… to pick up a little earlier.
“So… no… there’s no way for me.”
How it all came out:
“There were little caveats,” Fred said. “Just short of breath a couple of times… sometimes, not always… and just a little tired. I ignored it at first and then thought I’d go for a blood test… and it started from there.
‘There’s a cardiac place where they sent me for a stress test, and they picked up something they weren’t happy with. He sent me for an angiogram two days later, in which both the arteries were taken out which were partially blocked. Thank god they did.
“The cardiologist himself took out a model of the heart and showed me which ones were blocked. He told me that you must have had a heart attack at some point of time. I said, I don’t know about that, although it must have been very mild.
“They said, no, you have… but you wouldn’t even know. You might get a little chest pain, just quickly, or it might feel like reflux or something… but you definitely One has happened.
“I said, Oh, okay. What can you say?
“And then surgery followed.”
looking back:
“I’m happy with my career … but I probably could have accomplished more,” Fred said, continuing his very honest self-assessment, proving that you can’t let your competitive instincts just because you Lose it because you hang up your riding boots.
“There were times when I let certain situations get to me … or take a little away from me.”
“Other than that, yeah, I’m very happy with my career. I’ve been to a lot of places that a lot of people wouldn’t go…and seen the world, so it’s been great.”
“My career has opened up so many doors… from South Africa… Hong Kong… Singapore… and Australia, where I’ve always wanted to come and make my home.
“And frankly, there are people that I’ve met and friends that I’ve made over a long period of time.
“I consider myself very lucky and lucky.”
Some career highlights:
“Winning the Jockey Championship in Hong Kong in the 1999/20 season will be the highlight of my career,” volunteered Fraad.
“Perhaps even more so would be riding the first horse to leave Hong Kong to race internationally.”
That horse was Fairy King Prawn, who also became the first Hong Kong horse to win a Group 1 outside Hong Kong when he rode Yasuda Kinen, one of Japanese racing’s crown jewels, in 2000.
“Again, I was very fortunate to be a part of all of that… and it was a successful journey. Made it even more special.
“Rocket Man was another horse among many other good horses that I had a great association with.
“And then, of course, there was Stradbroke winning on Tyzone. Stradbroke would definitely be one of my highlights. If you are a Queensland based jockey then this is the race you want to win.
“Unfortunately, that was run under Covid restrictions with no public… no fans… in grandeur.
“If it hadn’t been during the time of those Covid restrictions, the field would probably have been stronger, with horses and trainers having more freedom of movement… but, at the end of the day it is still Stradbroke, it is a Group 1 and You still have to win it… and I did.
Two Premiere Stories:
Despite not being in the saddle since 21 December, Fred still leads the 2022/23 Gold Coast jockeys’ premiership by ten winners.
Clearly, he was well on his way to achieving his goal of winning the Premiership when his medical condition put an end to that charge.
“It was my goal to be on top on the Gold Coast this season,” admitted Fraad.
“I made the transition. I went from the city to the Gold Coast with that intention. I think it was a good decision because I love riding my winners. It doesn’t matter where I ride them. I just I love to ride winners.
“In the past, I tried too hard to win the premiership of Brisbane Jockeys.”
In the five seasons between the 2016/17 season and the 2020/21 season, Fraad finished third in the Brisbane Jockeys’ Premiership on four occasions and the closest he came to achieving that distinction was second in 2019/20.
“The appeals system probably robbed me of my chance to win the premiership that year,” said Fradd. “The rider who was ahead of me (Bailey Nothdorff) had a pending three-month suspension on her plate … and she obviously appealed … which she had every right to do under the system.
“It was completely his prerogative to do so, so I’m not complaining about it at all. Obviously, Bailey’s had a fantastic season and full credit goes to him.
“All I’m saying is it was definitely a disappointment for me not to land the Brisbane premiership. I hauled five winners that season … and that was the closest I got.
So, Fred is still the ten winner leading the Gold Premiership at the moment. With only half a season gone it’s probably a bridge too far not to expect any rival to go past Fred’s total, but the old principle of having scores on the board while others still have to get there… until further notice.
Fred joked, “Maybe with a couple of weeks left in the season if it needs a winner or two I’ll come back and do a couple rides to get there.”
giving thanks:
“It was like that,” said Fred.
“Now, I have one more target, I will tackle as soon as possible.
“When I’m well and can drive, I’ll probably come back to race. There are many people I want to thank personally… people I won’t see regularly.
“Hope I can thank everyone. There are so many of them out there. Obviously I can’t thank them all individually because there are so many of them… But, they’ll know who they are.” are … the owners, the coaches who have given me opportunities and others who have shown me so much support along the way.
“I want to thank everyone, including the attendants. They play a big part in racing, and I have a lot of respect for them. They’ve been amazing to me.
“It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t extend my thanks to all of these people… because I really appreciate what so many people have done for me.”
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