Update On Chris Christoforou

After an accident marred Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots action at Mohawk Racetrack on July 24, Trot Insider spoke with Chris Christoforou for an update on his injuries, having sustained a broken collarbone from the incident.

“It’s definitely going to be another three or four weeks, and then I don’t know,” said Christoforou on Wednesday afternoon. “We’ll have to take it week by week to see how the bone is healing.

“The first doctor I saw was in the Emergency Room and we went through the motions really quickly. He told me to come back for a second consultation but I went somewhere else because it was more convenient to get another opinion.”

The accident took place down the backstretch, with Twin B Sweetheart and Christoforou along the pylons when the filly made a sudden break in stride, hooking wheels with Betty And The Jets and James MacDonald to the outside. Both horses escaped the incident unharmed.

“The first doctor didn’t give me a recovery timeline and the second gave me different things to do to speed the healing process with the bone, so hopefully it progresses as quickly as possible.”

Injuries to the collarbone can pose a challenging recovery, causing an inability to raise the arm and the associated bruising, swelling and tenderness.

“I’ve been using a laser machine and now I’m going to be using an oxygen chamber to rehabilitate the injury,” said the reigning O’Brien Award winner as Canada’s Driver of the year. “I can’t say for sure how many weeks it will be until I’m back, it could be shorter or longer, it’s going to depend on how the bone heals. Right now I doubt I’ll be driving before the first week of September but after that it could be right away, or weeks away, who knows.”

Christoforou’s 2015 numbers were right on pace with his stats from 2014, with almost scalable numbers of drives and top-three finishes. Lifetime, the Campbellville, Ont. resident boasts 6,153 wins and more than $102-million in purse earnings.

For now, Christoforou will be relegated to the couch instead of the bike to get his fill of harness racing action. With the Hambletonian Day card fast approaching, going to post at noon on Saturday, he’s pegged Jimmy Takter trainee Pinkman to capture the 90th edition of the internationally renowned trotting event.

(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Hannah Beckett)