The miracle of how a heroic jockey saved his horse from death as he reveals his first thought following horror fall that says everything about his character

Heroic jockey Jason Collett has been praised for his courage and compassion after he and his horse suffered a horrific fall at Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse last weekend.

Collett, 33, has also lifted the lid on what first went through his mind after the shocking fall, with the jockey immediately rushing to his horse’s aid. Think About It after seeing the six-year-old gelding in some distress on the floor.

The incident occurred while Think About It was heading home in the $2 million Sydney Stakes on Saturday, with the Joseph Pride-trained horse suffering a worrying collapse.

The horse is said to have suffered a pulmonary haemorrhage during the race and is in some distress on the track.

Collett had injured his shoulder in the fall, but his first thought was for the welfare and health of his horse, with the rider running around to hold the horse’s head and prevent the animal from getting back up.

And speaking about the incident, Collett has now revealed his immediate reaction after the horror fall.

“I turned to the horse and was afraid he had done something to his leg, so I went to hold him,” Collett said.

‘If a horse tries to run around on three legs, that’s not good at all.

‘As I got closer, blood was pouring from his nose. I knew there had been bleeding, so I ran to his head and held him.

‘I didn’t think he’d be gone for long.

‘Horses usually don’t survive that. I don’t know what allowed Think About It to survive this. I’m glad he did.’

After a few moments on the track, Think About It got back up and walked back to his stall, where the six-year-old was seen by a vet.

After the vet’s diagnosis, his trainer Pride immediately decided not to let the horse race anymore.

Collet had also realized that something was not quite right with the horse as the pair rounded the bend.

He then admitted that he had tried to pull the horse up, initially thinking he may have injured one of its legs.

“I wanted to slide forward to get closer to the 600-meter speed, but I just lost power,” he said.

‘A few steps later I felt him going wrong, so I started pulling him up. At first I thought maybe he was up to something [in the hind leg].

“I tried to pull him up, but it kept getting worse and I kept telling him, ‘Stay up, buddy, just stay up.’ I knew we were getting lower to the ground, I knew he was about to go, and I was lucky enough to jump off in time.”

Fortunately, the horse is expected to make a full recovery after the incident, with Pride admitting he feared the worst.

“I’ve seen horses come down like that, but unfortunately they don’t get back up,” veteran trainer Pride said.

‘I walked down the straight. It was about 400 meters up – just a slow, painful walk, alone. I feared the worst,” Pride said.

‘But then I saw his head appear above the screen. It was great. I just thought ‘Aahh, what a relief’.

‘I still didn’t know what was wrong with him, but just the fact that he was on his feet was such a relief. The difference between him not leaving Randwick Racecourse and him bringing back a happy and healthy horse was just a huge relief.”

However, Pride also paid tribute to Collett after the race, praising him for his quick thinking.

“It’s all instinctive stuff when you get pelted like that – your natural instinct is what it would be if you were in an accident, which is to check the person next to you,” Pride added, speaking about Collett’s actions.

“That’s the respect the jockeys have for the horses they ride, and they have to trust them. Otherwise they wouldn’t be doing what they do there.’

‘Jason has been around horses all his life. He wanted to comfort him. The vet looked at the horse again on Monday, the heart is good. Saturday was quite a traumatic day for him, but he doesn’t seem to have any scars from it.’

New South Wales Chief Steward Steve Railton has also spoken out about Collett’s actions, claiming: ‘The prognosis didn’t look good from the moment Think About It hit the ground, but Jason’s presence of mind to get around racing and getting to the horse’s head trying to calm him down and help the horse was pretty remarkable.”

More to follow…