Thursday, 19 January 2012: The comeback of former champion jockey MJ Odendaal has been stalled by a suspension for a positive test to a banned substance going back to late 2010.
Odendaal was suspended for one month but two weeks of the sentence has been deferred on the condition that he is not found guilty of contravening the same rule in the next 12 months.
He was found guilty after urine specimen taken from him at Turffontein on December 27 in 2010 tested positive to the prohibited anti-anxiety medication Lorazepam.
An inquiry adjourned in April last year and was not reconvened until last Friday when Odendaal pleaded guilty to the charge.
Odendaal, 43, only returned to action in South Africa this month, predicting that he has another 10 years of riding ahead of him before he considers retirement.
“I only have 10 years left of my riding career and have decided to make the best of them," he said.
"I've made certain changes, which includes cutting out alcohol altogether.
"I still enjoy life and I'm still as energetic as always but now I focus more on the things that are important.'
Odendaal's career has been interspersed by a number of long “holidays' due to setbacks and injuries, the most recent from October 2007 until early 2010 while he recovered from two broken collar bones and a fractured shoulder.
He relocated to Mauritius last year and at the end of the season at Champ De Mars decided to return to South Africa to renew a career that saw him crowned champion jockey in 2004.
.In the past Odendaal has ridden mostly in Joburg and Durban but has now settled in the Western Cape where he riding for Darryl Hodgson, Paddy Kruyer and Dean Kannemeyer along with mounts for leading owners Markus Jooste and Hassen Adams.
Odendaal has been offered a contract to return to Mauritius when the season starts in May but is yet to make decision.
“I've still got a lot of racing in me and would definitely like to go for the SA jockeys' championship again.
“I've been lucky in the Guineas, Derby and Oaks but there are a couple of big races I haven't won here – notably the J&B Met and the Vodacom Durban July – and they are on my bucket list."
