Leading apprentice Lyle Hewitson has made an amazingly quick recovery from a broken collar bone thanks chiefly to hyperbacic treatment and is now looking forward to riding the Sean Tarry-trained French Navy in the Vodacom Durban July on Saturday.

The treatment was sponsored by Charl du Plooy of Hyperbaric Systems South Africa (Biobarica) at the Rivonia Medical and Sports Centre Hewitson broke the bone in a fall at Fairview on May 13 and said the following week, “I will use all means possible to heal it better and faster, but I will only come back when strong enough and the July is only just over six weeks away.”

He said yesterday about the decision to start race-riding just six weeks after the fall, “I was feeling so good and that was the main factor.”

Hewitson rode a treble in that comeback at Fairview on Friday and rode another winner at Greyville on Sunday. Hewitson rode French Navy in the July gallops last Thursday. The big bay put in pleasing work and is in fine condition, so is just being kept ticking over at Summerveld until the race.

Hewitson believes his mount is a “huge runner” at the weights. Furthermore, Tarry believes the five-year-old Count Dubois gelding has improved since a tongue tie was applied three runs ago. His last run can be ignored as he hated the blinkers and was hit in the eye by a clod.

Hewitson said winning the July would be “a dream come true, especially doing it for the Sean Tarry stable.”

The professional youngster is well aware of the boost winning a July can have on a young jockey’s career and there is no better example than S’manga Kumalo’s win on the Tarry-trained Heavy Metal in 2014.

By David Thiselton