Run of luck

By Bridget Brady
A STRING of misfortune has coincided with success on the race track for the Mathrick family.
Four months ago one of Cranbourne trainer Terry Mathrick’s sons, Gary, was in a serious car accident on Manks Road, not far from his Devon Meadows home.
Gary, 23, only returned home last week after he received major injuries including those to his head, two broken vertebrae, a dislocated leg, a broken rib, a punctured lung and pelvis broken in two places and damage to his heart, liver, spleen and kidney. His memory of the past 12 months is also sketchy.
But it was news Mr Mathrick received about five weeks after the crash that made him realise how close he was to never seeing his eldest son again.
“A policeman from Kooweerup rang to see how it was all going and he said ‘they did a good job to get him back, he was gone for a short period of time,” he said.
“That was pretty scary to find out we had lost him for a period of time. It was full on.”
While that unfolded, the Mathricks’ six-year-old horse Streetfighter has helped lift their spirits as it delivered some of his best results on the track, winning three races in a row including the Group 3 Newcastle Cup and two races at Randwick, taking his total earnings to about $300,000.
“He stood up and has been going well. Normally we can’t race him that many times in one prep. It’s enormous. It’s good for everyone.”
Mr Mathrick has nominated Streetfighter, known as Buckley to the family, for this Sunday’s luxbet.com Cranbourne Cup and said he may run if the track was not too wet. He said Gary might also be able to attend the event.
“Gary has come a long way. It’s a horrible thing in life but you just have to sort of keep going.”
Mr Mathrick joked that the family had “been to hell and back” during and after the accident and that Gary had slept through the entire thing.
The family are no strangers to injuries, as Mr Mathrick fractured bones in his leg when he hosed down a horse in 2007.
Gary also had to relive the death of his auntie, who died from cancer before Christmas.
“He was upset because he doesn’t remember her being sick. He went through it twice. We’ve had the worst two and a half years, but you have to be positive.”
While Mr Mathrick was by his son’s side during his rehabilitation, his brother Shawn has taken over much of the work.
“Even from the time I got hurt he has had just as much to do with the horse or more than I have.”
A fundraiser has been organised for Gary on 29 November.