After riding more than 2000 winners in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore, including 25 victories at the highest level, popular jockey Michael Walker has conceded that his career in the saddle is over.
Walker had his final race ride at The Valley last July, before he had a fall at the Pakenham jumpouts in early August, which left him with a brain injury.
“I’ll never be able to return to riding,” Walker told racing.com.
“With the brain injury, it’s just something that I’ll never be able to do again.”
Fatigue and memory issues are two of the main concerns that Walker said he now battles on a regular basis.
“Sometimes, I think that I’m getting better but obviously, I speak to my partner Lauren, we try to sit down to work out things, like I have to use a diary, there’s heaps of little things I have to do to remember things,” he explained.
“It’s a day-to-day battle with the brain and also my back, because I broke my back as well, I still have to go to the physio every week. If I don’t go to physio, it’s like I could barely walk or pick the kids up.
“Everything that’s happened with this last injury, it’s just changed my life altogether.
“Things are so different, I would love to go to the races, I miss seeing horses, but I just struggle, I get tired. With noise and people around you, it makes you tired, if there’s too much going on around me, it just zonks me.”
In more positive news for Walker, he recently got engaged to his partner Lauren, who has been a pillar of support for him in his ongoing recovery from injury.
The New Zealander has won some of the biggest races on both sides of the Tasman, like the New Zealand Derby three times, two Australian Cups and a memorable Caulfield Guineas triumph on Mighty Boss in 2017, just to name a few.
A champion apprentice in his homeland, Walker was admired by the generation of riders in New Zealand that came after him, like Melbourne Cup-winning jockey James McDonald.
“He was incredible, the most gifted horseman,” McDonald said.
“When we were growing up, he was the pin-up boy and extremely gifted on any sort of horse. He just was so talented at getting the best out of a horse.
“He was pretty exciting to watch when we were growing up back home.”
