Kylie Scott has never been one to whinge, even when she’s got every right to.
Her world came crashing down earlier this month when her husband, former champion jumps jockey-turned-trainer Brett Scott, suffered a serious head injury when he was kicked by a horse at their Mornington stables.
The ex-pat Kiwi was airlifted to hospital with his condition serious and his future uncertain.
Scott could’ve wilted under the stress, but she knew she had to be strong for her family and for their horses.
“It has been a tough couple of weeks,” Scott told Racing.com.
“For us, making a quick prognosis ourselves, it looked pretty grim from what had happened but once he got in there (hospital), he had a CAT scan done straight away and they were fairly confident that the recovery was going to be good.
“I’ve had to step up and run the stable.
“Tylah (daughter) has been fantastic, she’s stepped up and taken on my role while I’ve taken on Brett’s role.”
On Saturday, the family will saddle up stable pin-up Irish Flame as one of the leading chances in their local Mornington Cup (2400m).
The six-year-old won last year’s Ballarat Cup and hinted at a return to the winner’s stall when a gallant second behind Persan at The Valley last Saturday.
Sydney visitor Mount Popa is rated the $3 favourite for the race with Sportsbet, ahead of Irish Flame ($6.50), Defibrillate ($7) and Chapada ($8.50).
Scott said victory in the $350,000 race, which also offers Caulfield Cup ballot exemption to the winner, would be a dream come true under the circumstances.
“I do ride him every day anyway, so I’ve got a good handle on whether he’s feeling good or not,” she said.
“His run on Saturday was sensational.
“I was very nervous going into it and was hoping I’d got the job right so to just be beaten by a Melbourne Cup placegetter, I was very happy.
“It would be amazing if we could pull it off, it’s what dreams are made of.”
Scott has little doubt that a win on Saturday will help accelerate her husband’s recovery.
Post-traumatic amnesia has affected his short-term memory and at times, Scott has to convince her husband that he’s not in his native New Zealand.
But doctors are hopeful that, with continued improvement, he can shortly be moved into a rehabilitation facility with a goal to return home in a couple of months.
“He’s good at the moment,” she said.
“He’s functioning and doing everything himself – feeding himself, walking and talking but he gets a little bit confused.
“He sometimes still thinks he’s in New Zealand, there are a lot of references to that and horses that we trained 20 years ago.
“He was wanting to nominate Maybe Rough in the Mornington Cup, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to make that happen.
“He does have the racing channel on in hospital and I’m going to tell the nurses to have the TV on at that particular time and hopefully hearing the name and the colours might jog something in his memory.”
