This is the incredible moment a quick-thinking jockey came to the rescue of his horse after it collapsed mid-race in Australia.
Champion horse Think About It suffered a catastrophic internal haemorrhage while running the Sydney Stakes on Saturday.
Jockey Jason Collett was thrown from the sprinter but quickly got up to offer comfort to the ailing horse as it waved its legs in the air.
Collett is seen in footage running to hold the horse’s head as the rest of the peloton rockets to the finish.
Think About It, winner of last year’s Everest race, made a ‘miraculous recovery’ after ‘cheating death’ – although trainer Joseph Pride confirmed the horse would be retired.
Collett was thrown from his horse mid-race, but ran back to tend to the flailing animal
Thank About It had suffered a hemorrhagic attack, but eventually made a ‘miraculous’ recovery
Mr Pride said he was concerned the injury could have spelled the end for the racehorse after it fell during the Sydney Stakes on October 19.
A screen was brought up to obscure the disturbing scene from the view of the huddled crowd, which is often a clear sign that the horse is about to be euthanized.
“I’ve seen horses come down like that before, but unfortunately they don’t get back up,” Pride said The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Once they put that screen up, they can’t get out.”
Remarkably, the horse’s head rose again as Think About It was helped to its feet.
‘I saw his head appear above the screen. It was great. I just thought, ‘Aahh, what a relief,’” Mr. Pride added.
The horse was then walked off the track back to its stall, where a veterinary assessment revealed the severity of the heart problem.
The owners and trainer immediately made the decision not to race the horse again, saying it was an ‘easy decision’ as it was a ‘major bleed’.
“I don’t believe in higher powers, but honestly, something happened there,” Pride said.
‘I don’t know what happened. There is a scientific explanation for this, but it is beyond me. He shouldn’t have gotten up.’
Shortly afterwards they reported that the horse was ‘bright and happy’, having miraculously recovered from the horror fall.
‘I’m so happy to see him this morning. I can’t even believe he doesn’t even seem to be in pain from the crash. He rolled over and at high speed they were going about 60 km/h.”
Think About It, a son of two-time Cox Plate champion So You Think, was clearly upset and Collett said his first instinct was to try to get him back on his feet.
“I’m doing well and amazingly the horse has walked back to the stables,” Collett said.
‘They don’t. I thought he was broken, but he bled to death.’
Collett’s bravery was praised by racing fans.
“Graphics would like to hear that Think About It will retire like a king from now on,” racing analyst John Wall wrote on Twitter/X after the incident.
‘But huge respect for Jason Collett who tries to comfort the horse without any hesitation in an incredibly dangerous situation.’
Jockey Jason Collett has been praised for his bravery after his horse crashed onto the turf at the Sydney Stakes at Randwick last Saturday
‘It is very disturbing to see the animal in these situations. Well done Jason for not abandoning his post during this very upsetting time,” one fan posted on social media.
‘It shows how much love there is for these animals. Anyone who owned a horse knows that what Jason did was selfless. He risked himself to comfort the horse. Legend,” praised another supporter.
Think About It won 11 of 19 starts and even claimed the 2023 Everest.
The horse, son of the legendary So You Think, retires with $12,163,050 (approximately £6,250,000) in career prize money.
One of the owners wrote on X: “There is at least something poetic about cheating death twelve months after his triumph on Everest.”