Promising jockey Harry Coffey who has cystic fibrosis is CommBank’s Australian of the Day

HARRY Coffey, a jockey who had his first Group win in March, has cystic fibrosis. He is CommBank’s Australian of the Day.

Harry Coffey, one of the nation’s most promising jockeys, is battling the disease Cystic Fibrosis. Picture: Zoe Phillips

THE first time Harry Coffey sat on a racehorse in track work it bolted.

“I was just 14, weighed maybe 35 kilos and this thing just took off — I didn’t have any control over it whatsoever,” recalls the young jockey from Swan Hill in Victoria.

“You’d think it would be scary but I loved it! You can either be frightened or grab that moment with both hands and that’s what I did.”

Harry, now 21, has been seizing every opportunity that’s come his way ever since. The son of veteran trainer Austy Coffey, Harry grow up around race horses, completed his apprenticeship earlier this year and is now a qualified senior jockey with more than 1000 races under his belt and 260-plus wins to his name.

What makes his rise in racing even more impressive is that CommBank’s Australian of the Day has done it while battling cystic fibrosis — the life-threatening disorder that affects the lungs and digestive system.

Harry Coffey, who rode last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Prince Of Penzance in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfieldin August, is CommBank’s Australian of the Day. Picture: Colleen Petch.

To maintain the health and fitness necessary to succeed in professional sport, Harry books into hospital two or three times a year for what he calls a ‘tune-up’.

”It’s an intense course of antibiotics for 10 to 14 days and blood tests just to make sure I’m in good nick,” he says.

“I try to do it in quiet times when I’m not riding as much.”

Finding that time can be hard for an in-demand jockey.

“I do a lot of riding between the Swan Hill, Mildura, Bendigo and Ballarat area and I ride in Melbourne once or twice a week,” he says.

“It’s pretty busy most of the time.”

Victorian jockey Harry Coffey has to have the disease Cystic Fibroasis checked two or three times a year. Picture: Colleen Petch

Last year Harry’s natural talent and dedication saw him selected to ride for Australia at an

international series for apprentices in Macau.

“Just to represent Australia was a big thing and I was very proud,” he says. “I ended up winning the series against 14 other apprentices from other countries which was a real bonus.”

While it was definitely a highlight, the biggest achievement of his career so far came on Super

Saturday at Flemington in March when he won the Group 3 Matron Stakes atop a horse called

Feliecienne to record his first Group win in Melbourne.

“That was a pretty special day,” he says.

“Growing up with horses I always had a love for them and so now having a job where I get paid to do what I love most is pretty special,” he says, “Riding a thoroughbred is very exciting. There; s a lot of adrenaline about the fact you’re going so fast but it’s very quiet, so you’ve got a lot of time to take in the experience. I get a kick out of connecting with the horses and achieving something with such great animals.”

CommBank has partnered with News Corp Australia to champion the Australian of the Day initiative which celebrates people in our neighbourhoods and communities who really make a difference to how we live and who we are.

You can read all their stories at australianoftheday.com.au, where you can also nominate someone you know.