South Australian jockey Manoel Nunes returns to riding after ‘painful' health scare

Herald Sun

23-05-2025

Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Manoel Nunes is back in the saddle at Murray Bridge on Saturday, after a bout of kidney stones kept the Group 1-winning hoop sidelined during the Adelaide racing carnival.
Nunes competed on Sangster Stakes day on April 26, but found himself in a Singapore hospital earlier this month during a quick trip back to the region to visit his girlfriend.
• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Nunes, 48, woke up in agony during the early hours of the morning, before being rushed to the emergency room.
'I was in the hotel at 4am, sleeping, and suddenly I woke up in a lot of pain,' Nunes said.
'The pain was really bad, I couldn't breathe, I rang my girlfriend, luckily she answered the phone.
'I was crying in pain, it was very, very painful, 'she said what's happened?', I said 'please come here, and bring me to the hospital'.
'I couldn't explain to her, I got off the phone and about half an hour later she got to the hotel and took me to the emergency in Singapore.
'I discovered I had kidney stones, straightaway they put me on a drip, they did a CT scan, and one of them had dropped, that's the one that was causing the pain.
'They removed a lot of stones from the kidneys, it was very painful.'
• Crowther targets return to saddle from nasty injury
With the SA Derby (May 3) only days away, the episode saw Nunes miss the meeting and Goodwood day the following week, in a stroke of ill-luck for the Brazilian hoop.
He was in hospital for a day and a half, and returned to Adelaide last week.
'I couldn't ride for about two weeks,' he said.
'I went there to do a few things and come back for the Derby meeting, I had no intention to miss it but then that happened.'
Nunes has been a welcome addition to Adelaide's riding ranks, the multiple premiership winner in Singapore and Macau has notched 25 city winners after making a move to South Australia in October following the closure of racing in Singapore.
Nunes is booked for five rides on Saturday's nine-race card at Murray Bridge.
'I love what I'm doing, I love my job, you feel a little bit upset when you watch the races and cannot ride. I'm very happy to come back on Saturday,' he said.
'Adelaide is a very quiet place, I'm in Glenelg, it's a beautiful spot. I'm very happy to be here.'
Nunes made the move to Adelaide on his own, his partner still lives and works in Singapore and visits him as often as she can.
Manoel Nunes winning aboard Vintage Star at Morphettville. Picture: Makoto Kaneko
• Asfoora completes crucial gallop ahead of shot at history
Singapore-owned horses Bakeel, Makin, Ghalib and Asif, owned by Mansoor Gandhi, are being transferred from Adelaide to Perth after stints with Angaston trainers Aaron Bain and Ned Taylor.
Nunes has a strong affiliation with the quality gallopers, but never entertained a move to Western Australia himself.
'Obviously when the horses run, maybe I get on the plane and ride the horses for him (Mansoor),' Nunes said.
'But no, it never come to my mind to go and move there, you never say no, but so far now it hasn't passed my mind to move to Perth.'
'I appreciate the support from the trainers and owners who support me.
'And of course Damien (Wilton) my manager, who has hooked me up with stables from Melbourne and Sydney.
'When they come over they put me on – I'm very happy with that.'
Originally published as Brazilian jockey Manoel Nunes returns to riding after suffering from kidney stones that left him 'crying in pain'