Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michael Rodd outlines broken hand recovery

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michael Rodd faces a month on the sidelines after undergoing surgery to repair the hand he broke after he plunged off a horse at trackwork.

Melbourne Cup winner Michael Rodd faces another month or more on the sidelines after having his broken hand surgically repaired and secured with a small metal plate and screws.

Rodd plunged off a horse at trackwork in Brisbane on the morning of the Ipswich Cup on June 21, missing the winning ride on Paul Shailer’s classy three-year-old Mister Bianco who was ridden to victory by Andrew Mallyon in a $150,000 race.

The Queensland-based jockey has gone under the surgeon’s knife and is upbeat about his recovery time frame following the unusual incident.

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“I came down when a horse put his head between his legs and started pig rooting and got me off balance,” Rodd said.

“I hit my right hand on the ground and it came down really heavy.

“The scans showed a fracture in my hand and I had to have surgery, it needed a small plate and a screw in there to speed up the healing process.

“The next day I started physiotherapy straight away, just to get everything moving around it.

“It is probably another four to five weeks until I can return to ride, just until I can start getting proper movement.

“I have a small cast on at the moment to protect the area and I am doing a lot of hand therapy.”

Michael Rodd. Picture: Alex Treacy

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Rodd will be cheering from afar as Kyle Wilson-Taylor rides Mister Bianco as the $3.60 favourite, carrying 61kg and starting from a wide barrier, in the QTIS 3YO Handicap over 1350m at Doomben on Saturday.

Mister Bianco was a late scratching from last Saturday’s Group 3 Winx Guineas when Shailer could not find a suitable replacement rider after Ryan Maloney was injured earlier in the day.

Rodd is Mister Bianco’s regular rider, having partnered the Peter Tighe-owned galloper in three of his five career wins.

Three wins on the trot to Mister Bianco as he wins at @IpswichTurfClub today! 👏👏👏@mallyon_andrew@[e-mail]/OAicAokWeS

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 21, 2025

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“It hurts a little bit to miss the ride on him given the work that I’ve put into him, but it is good to see him keep winning,” Rodd said.

“It wasn’t much fun on the day I got injured when I was laying there in hospital and I watched him win.

“But I don’t have too much to stress about going forward.

“I will miss a bit of riding during the winter months, but will then be back into it.”

Mister Bianco makes it two from three as he wins at @SCTurfClub! pic.twitter.com/7GuIE6fO2g

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 10, 2024

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Meanwhile, Rodd feels like he has conquered his battle with post-concussion syndrome, which at one stage kept him out of racing for 30 months.

Despite being told a number of times his riding career was over, Rodd kept up his rehabilitation and has returned to being a formidable riding force.

“I’m all good, that is a long way behind me now,” Rodd said.

“I’ve been really fortunate.

“I think I just rehabbed it properly and went through the process, it has all been fine for a long time.”

Originally published as Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michael Rodd outlines broken hand recovery