WHEN Craig Luttrell suffered spinal damage as a result of a race fall 21 years ago he was devastated when told his career as a jockey was over.
Multiple operations and a constant issue with sciatica at one stage looked set to keep him house bound.
But at the age of 53 Luttrell regained his jockey’s licence two months ago and at UBET Park yesterday the comeback rider notched his first win this time around.
Luttrell partnered Boart to victory in a class one handicap but attached to the win were a multitude of coincidences that made the win even more special.
The horse is trained by the rider’s younger brother John Luttrell and it was his first winner since returning from a disqualification.
To add more sentiment to the win, one of the part-owners of Boart, Wayne Devine, is the son of the late Stafford Devine to whom Luttrell was indentured as a young apprentice.
The colours Luttrell wore to victory yesterday were the same that he wore when successful aboard Royal Work when he won a Tasmanian Derby and multiple weight-for-age races in the 1980s
“A lot of people laughed at me when I said I wanted to go back riding again but I guess I have the last laugh now,” Luttrell said.
“A lot of things had to change for me to even think about returning to riding.”
“I had an operation to remove discs and they were replaced with titanium cages but I suffered constantly with sciatica and no matter what I tried I couldn’t get it fixed.”
“I went for years living on heavy duty pain killers,” he said.
But a chance meeting with one of his brother John’s horse owners changed his life.
“This owner told me he could fix me in no time and after the second treatment I haven’t had any sign of the problem,” he said.
With no back or leg pain Luttrell then though about rekindling his riding career but because he had been given a payout from his in fall in 1994 he had to go through a long, drawn-out process that included undergoing many medical examinations to prove he was fit to resume riding.
“I was prepared to do whatever it took to get back riding because I really missed it and once it’s in your blood it’s hard to get rid of the urge to ride,” he said.