Recovering Raquel Clark has her comeback bid delayed by COVID

Raquel Clark has not ridden for 12 months after a fall at Morphettville. Now her recovery has been stopped in its tracks because of COVID restrictions.

Raquel Clark has not given up hope of a comeback, but her ability to see specialists has been delayed.

Highly talented jockey Raquel Clark’s comeback bid has been further delayed after her return to South Australia for specialist advice was put on hold for three months because of COVID-19.

Clark has been recovering from her fall at Morphettville 13 months ago with family in Tasmania and was scheduled to visit eye and brain specialists in Adelaide last month.

“The doctor’s advice was not too do the quarantine,” Clark said. “It would have been too much hassle, so I will see the specialists in February.”

Jockey Raquel Clark took over from where Jamie Kah left off when the later left Adelaide. ,

SA’s leading rider for the 2018-19 season, Clark has not given up hope of being back in the saddle despite still suffering complications from the fall after the winning post.

Headaches and mood swings remain a constant, as is her battle with memory loss.

“There are some days when you are having a good day and it is like you have not missed a beat,” she said. “The next day you can see me and it will be like ‘Oh my God, you OK’ because I’m a mess.

“There is no consistency with my moods and headaches. I used to hardly get a headache, now I know what a proper headache feels like and I still struggle with them.

Trainer Leon Macdonald and Clark after she rode Dalasan to victory in the Danehill Stakes at Flemington in 2019.

“Fatigue is a massive thing. I did not know what fatigue was because I’d run on nothing, get six hours sleep and keep going.

“Having to sit down and do not much has been really hard. There are days I will wake up and feel like I had not slept, get a headache and think I should not be getting out of bed.”

Clark said she had days when her emotions were horrible and she would cry up to seven times.

However, it is her memory which is causing her the most issues and fuelling frustration.

While there are times when Clark doubts she will ride again, she has “good” days when it is all she wants to do.

“Racing is not in my blood because I was not born into horses,” she said. “But it just becomes your whole life, your diet, the way you live.

“Being a jockey was a way of life, not just a job. They did say it could take a year, or five. The brain has no time schedule.”

Originally published as Recovering Raquel Clark has her comeback bid delayed by COVID