SOUTHERN District Racing Association (SDRA) premiership-winning jockey Mathew Cahill is still no closer to knowing if he will return to race riding.
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Cahill captured his first SDRA jockey's premiership at the age of 54, by holding on to win by six despite not riding for the last three months of the season.
Cahill registered 34 SDRA winners for the season, holding on to defeat Simon Miller (28) and Wagga apprentice jockey Hannah Williams (27).
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The Cowra-based star won 82 events and had two dead-heats during the 2021-22 season, the most of any jockey from the western area.
Clayton Gallagher, who has enjoyed a huge amount of success with Dubbo trainer Brett Robb this season, was the next best western hoop with 78 total wins.
The riding career of Cahill was brought to a sudden halt in late April when he suffered a race fall at Canberra that left him with a fracture of his C1 vertebra.
"I couldn't lift my head off the pillow for the first week I was in hospital, I couldn't move and that makes you realise what can happen," Cahill said.
"Just to be able to get up on the side of the bed and feed myself, actually walk around the room, it was such a relief to be able to do that."
Cahill labelled it as 'satisfying' to win his first SDRA jockey's premiership.
"It is satisfying. I've done a lot of riding over the years down there, I've never concentrated on the one area because I'm based at Cowra and you go to and fro a bit but I've done a lot of riding down there so it's a big thrill to win the premiership," Cahill said.
"It's brilliant in the latter stages of the career.
"I was satisfied. I did have a good season. I had a pretty good association with Ronny Stubbs and Timmy Donnelly and they had their stables firing at the time so I did, I had a really good season.
"One of the best seasons I've had for the last seven or eight years."
Cahill was able to remove his halo brace last week but is still unsure about the likelihood of him race riding again.
"I'll just guided by the specialist so I'll see what he says," he said.
"He said it will be 12 months out of the saddle so that's a long while for someone at my age. He said he's not sure if he would want me to come back, he just wants to see how the break heals so I'll be guided by him.
"If he thinks it hasn't healed properly or there is an increased risk of me being badly hurt if I come back riding again, I probably wouldn't. If he's happy with how it heals up and thinks I'm fine to go back and my body feels good, we'll see but it's probably a bit early to call."
Cahill said he is still coming to terms with life out of the saddle.
"It is a shock to the system. It's all I've ever done. I've never done anything else," he said.
"I probably only had three or four years left in me but it's not the way you wanted to finish, you'd rather go out on your own terms so it is a bit of a shock to the system. It does happen, it's part of the game."
