In a horrific incident at Taree’s Manning Valley Race Club on Sunday afternoon, four jockeys, Jeff Kehoe, Courtney Van Der Werf, Lachlan Scorse, and Jeff Penza, fell from their mounts.
It was a tragic result in the 1262m Class Three Handicap, with Balzando (ridden by Scorse) euthanised after the race, while No Respect (Van Der Werf), Golden Breeze (Kehoe), and Mischievous Molly (Penza) survived the ugly fall that was televised on Sky Racing.
The trio is now under the watchful eyes of vets.
Kehoe was the luckiest of the four jockeys involved, suffering soft tissue bruising to his left leg and right shoulder, and he has been cleared to go home.
Van Der Werf, who was released from hospital on Sunday evening, suffered a fractured left clavicle but no other injuries and is now awaiting surgery.
Jeff Penza, who is still in Port Macquarie Base Hospital, endured ten broken ribs, a punctured lung, internal bleeding, and a concussion.
19-year-old Lachlan Scorse, who’s only months into his apprenticeship, was airlifted to John Hunter Hospital with head injuries and is currently in an induced coma and undergoing scans.
NSW Jockeys Association CEO Tony Crisafi has been hard at work since the incident, liaising with Racing NSW while offering the support of the NSW Jockeys Association to the jockeys involved in the race and their families.
He is in Port Macquarie this morning visiting Jeff Penza and is planning to head to Newcastle to see Scorse’s family in the coming days.
“We had to be straight onto it; it’s a seven-day-a-week industry, and you’ve got to act immediately in these instances,” Crisafi told NSW Country and Picnic acing.
“Unfortunately, this is part of the industry, and these are the lows. I was meant to be at the Wellington meeting today, and instead, I was in the car heading to Port Macquarie to see Jeff.
“I’ll stay around for a meeting here and talk to jockeys and make sure they are all doing okay, and then I’ll be back down to see Lachlan and his family.”
Crisafi praised Racing NSW and emergency services for acting fast, with the final race at Taree abandoned as the four jockeys were attended to in the moments following the fall.
“Dr. Duckworth and Racing NSW have been great,” Crisafi said.
“Particularly with the families, and all through the day and night, and now we just have to wait and see what happens.”
With Racing NSW introducing plastic running rails at many tracks in recent years, Crisafi was thankful that Taree was one of the tracks upgraded from the old metal running rail.
“Thank god for plastic running rails; it saved lives yesterday,” Crisafi said.
“Senior jockeys told me that those plastic running rails saved lives; it could have been a lot worse.”
NSW Country and Picnic Racing will continue to keep readers up to date on the Taree fall and the condition of all four jockeys.
