Isaac Lupton has revealed that he's only still riding because of Wise Men Say, his mount in today's Pakuranga Hunt Cup (4900m) at Ellerslie.
The affable jumps jockey will shoot for his sixth win in the feature steeplechase aboard a horse he describes as "potentially one of the best I've ridden", a statement that demands contemplation when you consider Lupton was the regular partner of champion jumper Hypnotize.
"He's the main reason I carried on riding after I had that bad fall a couple of years ago," Lupton said of Wise Men Say.
He broke a shoulder, wrist, ankle and some ribs in a horrific fall on Field Daze at Te Aroha in September 2015.
"It took a lot longer to come right than I'd hoped. I was in hospital for a week afterwards and it all happened at the worst time," said Lupton, who milks 300 cows on his Waverley dairy farm.