Sport | Horse Racing
Emirati jockey Ahmad Ajtebi can't wait to get back on horse
Star jockey says he will be back on the saddle 'with a vengeance'
- By Leslie Wilson Jr, Sports Editor
- Published: 14:35 February 2, 2010
- Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
- Emirati Ahmad Ajtebi, a former camel jockey, famously took the racing world by storm in March by winning two $5 million races on Dubai World Cup night.
Dubai: Star Emirati jockey Ahmad Ajtebi, who narrowly escaped serious injury after being unseated from his horse at Meydan racecourse last Thursday, says he 'can't wait' to get back into the saddle for this weekened double-header.
"I'll be back with a vengeance," Ajtebi told Gulf News on Tuesday. "The Terminator will be back. I'm hoping to have 12 to 12 rides on Thursday and Friday. I'm fit, no worries."
Ajtebi sustained injuries to his neck and leg when Desuetude stumbled and unseated him shortly after the start of the sixth race on the opening night of the Dubai International Racing Carnival.
The life of UAE jockey Ahmad Ajtebi, in pictures
After hitting the ground, he was struck in the neck and leg by a trailing horse but miraculously escaped serious injury.
"It happened too fast, like a flash of lighting," Ajtebi, said recalling the incident. "I fell, felt something slam the side of my neck and blanked out. I was hurting in many places, but thanks to God nothing serious happened."
Earlier on Tuesday, Ajtebi met the Emirates Racing Authority medical officer who passed him fit and gave him the go-ahead to resume riding with immediate effect.
Ajtebi says he has been nicknamed the Terminator by Godolphin's America-based Irish-trainer Eoin Harty.
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