Jockey Harry Coffey opens up on living with cystic fibrosis
Champion jockey Harry Coffey has opened up on living with cystic fibrosis and the sacrifices he and his wife Tayla had to make on their way towards starting a family.
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Harry Coffey always wanted to be a dad. But the Group 1-winning jockey also knew that living with cystic fibrosis would create “complications around having children”.
Up to 98 per cent of men with the genetic disease are infertile, but can still have biological children with the help of assisted reproductive technology like IVF, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
“You wonder whether you’ll be able to find a person who’s happy to make that sacrifice,” Coffey says.
Luckily, Coffey met his wife, Tayla, when he was 17 and she was 18. And about a decade later, the Swan Hill-based couple welcomed son Thomas on May 1, 2023, after two rounds of IVF at Monash.
“It did take a while, and Tayla had to go through a lot more than I had to, which was unfortunate when I was the issue,” Coffey says.
“IVF is quite a draining process. It can seem a bit daunting (thinking) ‘is it gonna work?’ Because Tayla and I are both healthy people, we were relatively lucky.
“(Thomas) is a happy baby. He loves smiling, he’s very inquisitive and interested in what everyone’s doing.
“He’s an animal man, he loves his dogs, and he loves getting outside. He’s a pretty interesting little fella.”
Having a child has given Coffey some perspective about what his horse trainer dad, Austy, and mum, Maree, endured when he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at six weeks old.
The 28-year-old – who notched the biggest win of his career in last weekend’s Group-1 Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield – says he has always sympathised with how “scary finding out that your son had a disease that you’ve never heard of” would have been for his parents.
“Tom coming along hasn’t really changed my thought process on how amazing they’ve been,” he says. “But when deciding to have a baby you think, ‘jeez, I hope he’s perfect and nothing’s wrong with him’.
“You don’t want there to be any trouble and then, when they’re here in your arms, you just think, ‘I hope you have a healthy, easy, simple life’. So that’s sort of the perspective you have. But I’m sure any parent would have that, let alone if they have cystic fibrosis.”
Despite the diagnosis, Coffey’s parents neverwrapped him in cotton wool. “They raised me to get on with it, have a go and if you’re not good enough, then we’ll worry about that later,” he says.
So when he announced his ambition to be a jockey, spurred by his father’s career as a horse trainer, Austy and Maree backed him in.
“I’ve ridden horses and ponies since I was a baby. And I always helped out around Dad’s stables (in Swan Hill) and went to the races with him. That’s how I became a racing man,” Coffey says.
“When I stayed small enough and stayed light, I started riding trackwork and enjoyed that, and then started having a go in trials.
“Dad definitely didn’t push back when we started talking about whether I should be a jockey. He and Mum just wanted me to complete school, in case I was no good at it.”
Coffey insists he “wasn’t an inspiration around the stables”. And he never wanted to be “known as the sick kid”.
“I played football with everyone else growing up, went to school with everyone else. And if I had to duck away to the Royal Children’s Hospital for 10 days, well that was my bad luck.
“It wasn’t ever, ‘how good’s Harry?’ People were always aware that I had cystic fibrosis, but we weren’t harping on about it too much.”
But as he became older, Coffey realised the positive impact telling his story could have.
“You sort of understand that it’s actually not about you,” he says. “It’s about raising awareness for CF.
“There are probably other people out there with CF, or young parents whose child has CF, and it’s about them when you’re sharing your story. You are letting them know that, if everything goes smoothly, they can go out and chase their dreams.”
He is also giving back to the Royal Children’s Hospital – without which, he says he “wouldn’t be riding” – as a Victoria Racing Club ambassador promoting the club’s fundraising partnership with the Good Friday Appeal.
The VRC raised $41,000 for the appeal during last year’s Flemington Racing Spectacular.
Racegoers will again be able to donate to the cause during the VRC’s upcoming Group-1 race days – Australian Guineas Day on March 2, Super Saturday on March 9 and Australian Cup Day on March 30 – via raffles and tin rattles, and when purchasing tickets.
Coffey urges punters to give generously, noting: “I spent a lot of time in there (the Royal Children’s) as a kid. For a place that can be so sad and scary, it can also feel like one of the safest, happiest places.
“I’m a huge supporter of the Good Friday Appeal – not only do we raise money, it creates awareness about how great the hospital is.”
Since 1931, the fundraiser has generated more than $444m that has gone towards groundbreaking research, state-of-the-art equipment and technology, family-centred care programs, and attracting and retaining the brightest minds in children’s healthcare.
Before advancements in cystic fibrosis medication changed his life, Coffey started every day by “blowing into a machine for 30 to 45 minutes” to help clear his lungs.
He would also take 20 to 30 pills daily and be admitted to hospital – the Royal Children’s until he switched to The Alfred from age 18 – “two or three times a year for 10 to 14 days for regular check-ups”.
Remarkably, Coffey forged a career as an elite athlete with all this going on, notably winning his first Group-1 race at the 2018 Australasian Oaks in Adelaide aboard Sopressa.
“It’s quite draining, the workload you have to do to keep your body healthy – not only physically, but mentally it could get you down,” he recalls.
“I’d pull up short of breath after every race, coughing, gasping for air. Then you’d have to speak to owners and trainers and they could see that I was physically quite distressed.
“I was really lucky that people just knew that was me and still backed me in to perform. I had good support from trainers and my family, and we just got on with it.”
The arrival of gene-modifying medication – in particular Trikafta, which improves lung function – within the past four or so years has been truly revolutionary for him.
“I don’t have to do the airway clearance every morning, my pill intake is halved, I do a lot more telehealth appointments instead of going for check-ups at The Alfred,” he says.
“Having to get up and fight cystic fibrosis every day, while staying at the top of your game and your health, it’s been so much easier because of Trikafta. My quality of life is so much better.”
When Coffey started taking this medication, he was warned rapid weight gain of up to 10-15kg was a possible side effect – a scary thought when your livelihood requires you to tip the scales at well under 60kg.
But taking it was never in doubt for Coffey. “I love being a jockey, but my health is more important,” he says. “I wanted to be able to live more normally. Luckily, this amazing drug has allowed me to be healthier, but also made being a jockey easier.”
On top of his Group 1 wins, Coffey’s career highlights include riding in the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups and notching 100 wins in a season in 2022.
He hopes to achieve all of these again, saying of Group-1 wins: “It’s what the elite do in our sport, they win at the top level and it’s pretty cool to say that I’ve been able to do that.
“It keeps me motivated to try and get more.”
He’s in top form – in addition to riding $17 outsider Queman to victory in the Group-1 Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield, Coffey kicked off the Flemington Racing Spectacular summer-autumn season with an upset win in the Listed The Elms Handicap aboard “$151 shot” Makram in February.
“It was a nice surprise,” he says of that win.
Coffey also recently rode his 100th winner for his dad – an achievement that meant a lot to both of them. “I get no bigger thrill than riding a winner for my father,” Coffey says. “It doesn’t matter where that winner is – it can be out in the bush or in Melbourne.
“We’re a really close family. My brother, Sam, he doesn’t work for my dad anymore, he’s an accountant. But on his days off, he still comes to the races and helps Dad out.
“And Mum does all the books and continues to get mad at Dad about how he’s got horses that are too slow.
“We’ve had horses forever, and plenty of disappointing days. So when we get a win together, we always celebrate with a bit of dinner somewhere in Swan Hill.”
Given the tight-knit nature of his family, it’s no surprise Coffey chose a family name for his son. Thomas is named for Coffey’s beloved late Pa, Tom Renney.
So how is Coffey juggling fatherhood, keeping his health in check and a demanding career that takes him to racetracks all around Victoria, and occasionally interstate?
His wife, Tayla – with whom he shares a Swan Hill farm that’s also home to “three dogs, a few horses (and) a couple of cats that are half wild” – plays a vital role.
“I’ve kept pretty busy with work (since Thomas was born), and that’s because Thomas has a very good mother at home who does all the work,” he laughs.
“Tayla doesn’t have the most major interest in racing. She’s a horse person, she’s grown up having horses. But at the beginning (of us being together), I think she thought racing was a bit stupid, with how much effort goes into it and how much we work.
“She’s come to understand what’s needed to be successful, so she’s become pretty tolerant for it. And she’s starting to enjoy racing now.
“Tayla is pretty strong in terms of being able to be at home if I’m away working. I’m away a lot. You do miss home a lot. Sometimes they’ll come away with me, we just make it work.
“(Having a child) adds another dynamic. Everything you do is based around what’s best for your son and your family.”
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