Stevens Looks Beyond Surgery

When Gary Stevens climbed aboard Consort Miss for the third race Wednesday at Hollywood Park, little did he know that was the last horse he would be riding for several months.

Stevens knew surgery on his worn left shoulder was inevitable, he just didn’t know when it would be necessary.

After whipping Consort Miss six times left-handed, the jockey’s left shoulder dislocated, then popped back into place.

In a lot of pain when he got back to the jockeys’ room, Stevens, 33, went to first aid, then to see Dr. James Tibone of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic.

Tibone knew immediately what was next for the rider who in 1995 had won 16 Grade I races, among them the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, Santa Anita Handicap and Santa Anita Derby.

“He felt surgery was required even without taking [X-rays],” Stevens said Thursday.

Stevens, who has had his share of injuries during a career in which he has won 4,002 races, will be gone for at least three months, according to Tibone. The operation is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday morning at Centinela Hospital Medical Center.

“It’s just wear and tear,” Stevens said. “Riding that mare [Wednesday], the rubber band just finally snapped out. I felt [the shoulder] getting looser and looser.”

Stevens is prepared for much more discomfort after the operation. He remembers the surgery he had on his right shoulder after a training accident at Santa Anita in 1985. He dislocated the shoulder, and a bone chip was removed. He was out for three months.

“That injury is the one I remember the most,” he said. “It was very painful.”

Stevens, however, is optimistic.

“I’m going to come back stronger from this and be better than what you’ve been seeing the last three or four months,” he said.

After the operation, rehabilitation probably will start in a few days. And he intends to be at the track during his recuperation.

“It’s a good opportunity for me to put some time in during the morning with trainers I respect and watch what they do,” he said. “I think training is what I want to do when I’m done riding and I’d be working on my future.”