Ray Green checking out Copy That at Lincoln Farms last Saturday with stable foreman Andrew Drake.
Ray back in hospital ‘after going downhill fast’ but improving and knows he must take it easy
By Barry Lichter • 7 December 2022
As much as Ray Green would love to be at Alexandra Park on Friday night to see Copy That race he knows that wouldn’t be wise after being re-admitted to Middlemore Hospital yesterday afternoon.
Green, 77, was feeling “pretty crook” yesterday prompting the district nurse to dispatch him to hospital.
Green was discharged from Middlemore last Friday seemingly recovering well from a seven-hour operation to repair internal damage after being kicked in the stomach by a young horse.
He was back at Lincoln Farms’ stable the next morning, checking on the team and watching a few workouts.
“Possibly I was overdoing it a bit. I got tired pretty quickly but was feeling OK until yesterday when I went downhill fast.
“I was losing more fluid than I was taking in but they’re working hard to get my potassium level right again. They’re doing a good job, throwing everything at me.
“I’ve had cat scans, ECGs, you name it, I’ve had it. But I think the biggest problem is that, with the stoma bag, I’m not fully utilising the food going into me.
“I’ve got a drip now. They’re poking a lot of stuff into me and I’m vastly improved on yesterday.”
12kg loss in weight
Green said in the two weeks he’s been out of action he’s lost 12kg in weight - he didn’t eat anything for the first five days after his surgery.
“I’m a bit weak and just need to take it easy and let nature take its course. It was a serious injury with a big surgery and all that takes its toll.
“I’ve got to be realistic. I’d like to think I’m making progres but I think I’m just getting to the levelling out stage.”
Green said he had no idea how long he will be kept in hospital - “But I don’t think they’ll be cutting me loose too soon.
“I doubt I’ll be able to go to the races on Friday. That might be detrimental to my progress. But the horses are all in good hands, everyone at the farm knows their job, and Blair’s (Orange) coming up to drive five of them.
“I live in hope but have to be realistic and take stock of what’s happened.”
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 2: Jessie Lincoln
5.25pm
“This is her first run back and first at the Park but I’m expecting her to be very competitive. She ran a nice trial and she seems pretty good. I think she’ll be in the money. She’s a much stronger individual after her break - the big ones tend to take a little longer to make. I like her. She’ll be winning races for sure.”
Race 4: Johnny Lincoln
6.16pm
“We’re testing the water with him but he’s a proper racehorse and, drawn one, he won’t be far off them. I can’t see him beating those others but he’s a little tradesman who is a worthy candidate for the race.”
Race 4: Lincoln Wave
6.19pm
“You just have to forget about his last start because of the puncture and assess him on the previous two runs. We’re not expecting a huge effort from him - he’s on his way back up after a five-week break and there’s a fair bit of improvement in him. But I think he’s a very nice horse and I’m not afraid to front up to the good ones with him. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he got into it, even from five. We still don’t really know what we’ve got with him. But whatever he does on Friday night will tidy him up for the next one.”
