When describing the dangers of being a jockey, the line "the only job where an ambulance follows you around at work" is often trotted out.But race falls aren't the only occupational hazard inherent in race riding - is there any other type of athlete who competes when they are physically at their worst?
Sure, boxers might crash diet a couple of days before their fight for a weigh-in, but have the relative luxury of loading up on carbohydrates and fluids for 24 hours before a bout so they end up bouncing into the ring looking and feeling like Popeye.
Jockeys head on to their field of play, often not having eaten for a day or more, and having already pushed the limits of human endurance to get down to the required weight.
On Saturday, Gerald Mosse was fined HK$5,000 for weighing in two pounds over the allotted 120 pounds on Chancellor, who won by the narrowest of margins and saved the Frenchman a much larger penalty and possible suspension had he been beaten.
A litre of water weighs less than two pounds and a quick sip of fluids was the likely culprit for Mosse - and it a thirst-quencher that is usually to blame for most jockeys who come in a pound or two over their allocated weight.
Sports scientist John O'Reilly is studying the affects of jockeys' diets - part of a PhD with the Chinese University of Hong Kong focusing on the rehydration of athletes in extreme conditions. Jockeys will be fitted with heart-rate monitors and sweat patches to find out more about what happens to their bodies when competing.
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