Mark Zahra reveals why he wanted to step away from racing while serving his Airbnb suspension as he prepares for his New Years’ return to Flemington.
The New Year will present a new start for jockey Mark Zahra at Flemington on Saturday.
Zahra will return from the four-month suspension he received after the infamous Airbnb saga in August.
He could have returned to riding earlier in the week, but Zahra decided January 1 would be a good time to return.
“I thought you just need to aim for New Years Day with a fresh start in a new year and start slow,” he said.
Three of the five suspended riders, including first jockey Jamie Kah, returned to riding, but Zahra wanted to make a measured return to the saddle.
Zahra’s Yulong January mount in the Chester Manifold Stakes will be the lightest of her three races at 59.5kg.
“The physical condition is good, but after having had so much free time I’m still just over the 60 (kg) mark,” Zahra said.
“I don’t want to rush too much. I asked Reece (Murphy) my manager to look for horses around the 60kg mark earlier.
While Kah and Ethan Brown raced on the track during their suspensions, Zahra took a different approach to her forced break from racing.
Zahra decided to leave Melbourne only interested in what she lacked during the spring carnival.
“I thought if I stayed in Melbourne to work it would hurt me to watch all the races and stuff like that,” Zahra said.
“I just made it to Byron Bay as soon as I could, and I have a new baby girl, so the three of us went there.
“I just watched the big races on the weekends but other than that I didn’t pay a lot of interest.
“I just spent some time with my family enjoying my little girl and I ate, drank and slept, which you don’t really get a chance to do as a jockey.
“It was good to be normal for a bit.”
Zahra decided to return to track work upon her return to Melbourne after spending a month in Los Angeles in the final stages of her suspension.
The Caulfield Cup-winning jockey said his fellow riders took the opportunity to explain his temporary weight to him in recent jumps.
But he was looking forward to working out to achieve peak fitness in the weeks to come.
“I settled in at around 63kg when I was resting so it’s not too bad for me,” Zahra said.
“I just need to ride and find the rhythm of being a jockey. I think if I roll more often as I get back to it, my weight will go down.
“The more races I have, the fitter I will be and the lighter I will be able to ride.”
TAB awarded Zahra a $ 6.50 chance to win over Bella Tiara in her first return race in the Omagh Plate Fields (1400m).
Originally published as Top jockey Mark Zahra will return from Airbnb suspension on New Years Day in Flemington
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