Newcastle's leading concession driver Brad Elder is set to miss a large part of the harness racing season after sustaining serious injuries in a race fall at Tamworth on Sunday afternoon. Elder fractured his right wrist, tore ligaments in his ac joint and has also torn his pectoral muscle as a result of the incident and is yet to be given a clear indication on when he will be able to return to the sulky.
"I'm not sure when I'll be ready to return but speaking with a few people about the injuries I've got it can take a long time to recover, I've even been told twelve months out is not out of the question," Elder said.
"I have to go back to the fracture clinic on Thursday week and that should give me a clearer indication, my arm is in a half cast at the moment, they're going to remove that next week and have a look at it again to see if it is healing but if it isn't they will put on another cast."
The news has come at the worst possible time for Elder, with the seventeen year old driving eleven winners in the last six weeks.
"I thought I was just going to be a bit sore after the fall because I got up and got in the back of the mobile and they took me around to see the ambulance officers, I got checked out, they looked after some gashes on my knees because they were cut up a fair bit but I thought that was about it.
"On the way back home in the car from Tamworth, my shoulder was pretty sore so I went to the hospital on Monday and while they were checking out my shoulder the doctor ran his hand down my arm and when he got to my wrist and touched it I just about did a back flip out of the window it hurt that much."
Elder went up to the Maitland Showground on Tuesday so he could spend some time around the horses but soon became frustrated.
"I'm right handed so I can't do anything, I can't help out and gear the horses up, it isn't much fun at the moment.
"I'm not in a lot of pain it is just the inconvenience of not being able to use my hand or arm, I'm meant to go back to school in a couple of weeks but I don't even know if it is worth going because I won't be able to write."
Elder can clearly remember what happened moments before and after the fall.
"The horse inside me at the start (Rib And Roll) galloped and then my horse galloped and ran out onto the horse Luke McCarthy was driving (Madam Misty), we locked wheels and my gig ended up getting flipped up and I fell out, it all happened very quickly."
"Hopefully I'm a quick healer and I can get back driving as soon as possible because I was really enjoying it and starting to get a number of opportunities."
Elder is currently third on the NSW Concession Drivers Premiership behind Todd McCarthy and Chris Geary.
Greg Hayes
