- Jason Collett and his horse suffered a horrific fall
- The jockey has since been praised for his actions.
- Collett ran to the aid of the horse that was in danger.
Heroic jockey Jason Collett has been praised for his bravery and compassion after he and his horse suffered a horrific fall at Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse over the weekend.
Collett, 33, has also revealed the first thing that went through his mind after the fall, with the jockey immediately seen rushing to the aid of his horse Think About It after spotting the six-year-old gelding in distress on the ground.
The incident took place as Think About It headed home in the $2 million Sydney Stakes on Saturday, with the Joseph Pride-trained horse worryingly collapsing.
The horse is believed to have suffered a lung hemorrhage during the race and appeared in some distress lying face down on the track.
Collett had injured his shoulder in the fall, but his first thought was the welfare and health of his horse, and the rider was seen running to grab the horses’ head and prevent the animal from getting back to its feet.
And speaking about the incident, Collett has now revealed his immediate reaction following the horror fall.
“I turned to the horse and I was afraid he had done something to his leg, so I went to restrain him,” Collett said.
‘If a horse tries to run on three legs, it is not good at all.
“As I got closer, blood was coming out of his nose. I knew there had been bleeding, so I ran to his head and held him down.
‘I didn’t think he was gone for long.
Heroic jockey Jason Collett has been praised for his bravery and compassion after his horse fell on the track at Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse last weekend.
Collett was thrown from his horse mid-race, but ran back to tend to the flailing animal.
Collett ran over to Think About It and proceeded to comfort the horse and prevent it from getting back to its feet.
‘Horses usually don’t survive that. I don’t know what allowed Think About It to survive this. I’m glad you did.’
After several moments on the track, Think About It stood up and walked back to his stall, where a veterinarian tended to the six-year-old.
Following the veterinarian’s diagnosis, Pride made the immediate decision to retire the horse from racing.
Fortunately, the horse is expected to make a full recovery following the incident, and his trainer, Pride, admitted he feared the worst.
“I’ve seen horses fall like that before, and unfortunately they don’t get back up,” veteran trainer Pride said.
Think About It had suffered a hemorrhage attack, but ended up recovering ‘miraculously’
Jockey Jason Collett has been praised for his bravery after his mount crashed into the grass in the Sydney Stakes at Randwick last Saturday.
‘I walked down the straight. It was about 400 meters up, just a slow, painful hike, by myself. “I feared the worst,” Pride said.
But then I saw his head appear above the screen. It was amazing. I just thought ‘Aahh, what a relief.’
“I still didn’t know what was wrong with him, but just the fact that he was standing was a huge relief.” The difference between him not leaving Randwick Racecourse and him retiring a happy, healthy horse, well, it was just a huge relief.
More to follow…