Elvis ‘Ricky’ Thurgood feted at Easter Sandown races 37 years after tragic mishap

Elvis ‘Ricky’ Thurgood with parents Noel and Doris.

BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE

The Horse racing fraternity in Australia are a rare breed as envisioned by their tender loving care for a fallen mate, Elvis ‘Ricky’ Thurgood, a champion Jockey who was literally stopped in his tracks on a fateful Easter weekend at Caulfield racecourse and left quadriplegic for the past 37 years.

The horse that Ricky was astride on that terrible Easter Cup day, Taras Regent, unfortunately suffered a heart attack in full stride throwing the champion jockey to what was considered a fatal fall but he has hung on in a quadriplegic state since and has recently shown miraculous signs of some form of recovery.

Thurgood, born of Sri Lankan parents Noel and Doris took to horse racing as a young lad drawn to the sport of kings. His interest was spawned by the proximity of his school Caulfield High which saw him gain an apprenticeship before going on to be one of the most successful jockey’s in Australian racing.

He had won 50 major races before his untimely separation from the sport he so loved. And being the fierce competitor he was on the track, he has battled against all odds to continue his life in a condition that has sadly been with the care of family and medical staff.

The Victorian Racing community have thrown their weight behind Thurgood’s recovery through the National Jockey’s Trust by helping in whatever way they can.

There was a special race held at Sandown races on the Easter weekend in memory of a great champion who was tragically stopped in his prime.

Elvis Thurgood has received several reviews since his unfortunate mishap.

Below are a couple of examples written by Des O’Keeffe, CEO of Victorian Jockey’s Association and an article in the racing industry’s journal ‘The Winning Post’.

Elvis “Ricky” Thurgood

Elvis “Ricky” Thurgood was born in November 1958 in Sri Lanka.

His parents, Noel and Doris Thurgood, brought Ricky, his brother Derek, and sister Debbie out to in Australia in 1968, Ricky was just eight years old.

He attended secondary school at Caulfield High, which was located right next to Caulfield Racecourse, this is how the infatuation with wanting to become a jockey began. Subsequently, with a push from one of Ricky’s teachers, he took up a Jockey apprenticeship, his boss was legendary trainer, Angus Armanasco.

His first race ride was in 1976. Later that same year on April 3, Ricky rode his first winner aboard a horse called “World Wonder” at Caulfield.

Four years on, in 1980, and Ricky had ridden more than 50 winners, making a great fist of the riding caper, until tragedy struck on the Saturday of the Easter weekend at Caulfield.

Ricky had the ride on the Jim Marconi trained Taras Regent in the Easter Cup, no one was to know that this would be Ricky’s last ride as a jockey.

Rounding the final turn in the Easter Cup at Caulfield, Taras Regent sustained a fatal heart attack, giving way underneath Ricky and Ricky suffering a terrible fall.

After the race fall in 1980, Ricky was given very little chance of surviving, but with a lot of love, care and faith from Ricky’s parents and family, Ricky is still here with us.

Diagnosed as a quadriplegic with significant brain damage, Ricky lives with and receives round the clock support from his parents, who attend to his every need.

Thurgood 34 years on

As Elvis “Ricky” Thurgood left for Caulfield races on Easter Saturday in 1980, life couldn’t have been better for the 21-year-old.

He had just completed a successful apprenticeship with the leading Caulfield stable of Angus Armanasco. He had ridden 58 winners in a career spanning five years.

Tragically, Easter Saturday at Caulfield 34 years ago would leave Ricky facing certain death.

Ricky suffered every jockey’s worst nightmare when Taras Regent collapsed and died on the home turn in the Easter Cup. It was a fall without the slightest warning in a big field.

Later that day at the Alfred Hospital, his parents, Noel and Doris, his brother Derek and sister Debbie were told thattheir son and brother was not expected to survive the night.

Not only did Ricky survive the night, but he survived the next day, the next week and the next month.

In the best of faith, doctors told Noel and Doris that Ricky’s life expectancy would not exceed one year.

Today, 34 years later, Ricky is still being cared for by Noel and Doris at their home in Caulfield.

His survival meant the start of a lifetime of commitment by his parents. These two extraordinary people are a unique example of love, care and attention that has been unconditional, without boundaries and unending.

Ricky’s injuries were genuinely catastrophic. A massive brain injury has left him unable to communicate at all. Physically, Ricky is a complete quadriplegic who requires 24/7 care every day of his life.

In Ricky Thurgood’s case, the greatest of all privileges associated with my job is that I have got to know him and his parents well. I’m proud to say that Noel and Doris, along with Derek and Debbie, are close friends.

It is impossible to understand the grief experienced by the families of Victorian riders who have paid the ultimate price. The emptiness felt by the families of Andrew Gilbert, Mark Goring, Adrian Ledger and Gavin Lisk is impossible to describe. The incredible sense of loss felt by the families of Ben Smith, Harry Hillier and Adrian Lechmere lost at such a young age in tragic circumstances can’t be understood. The challenges faced so bravely by Lonagan Milham, Brenton Primmer, David Taggart, Danny Brereton, Billy Hernan, Louise Cooper and so many other injured riders is what makes jockeys unique.

Each situation is different, heart-breaking and challenging… but to the families of riders we have lost and to those riders who have suffered life-changing, career-ending injuries, the industry does remember you.

To Noel and Doris Thurgood, please pass on to Ricky that the racing industry remembers him this Easter, 34 years on.

(The Thurgood family sincerely thanks the Melbourne Racing Club for remembering Ricky by allocating a race on Easter Monday, the Ricky Thurgood 34th Anniversary Plate.)

Des O’Keeffe
Victorian Jockeys Association
The National Jockeys Trust helped Ricky by providing him with a new wheelchair in 2007