Racing: "It seemed gone"

Zubair Bholah, the Wingatui-based apprentice jockey, suffered serious injuries after being injured as a result of his fall and fall in the second race.

Bholah, originally from Mauritius, was making his first outing of the day with his employer, Steve Tyler's horse, Morena Roc, and had difficulty trying to control his horse shortly after the start of the fight .

Bholah, who remained unconscious on the runway for several minutes, was transported to Greymouth's Gray Base Hospital before being flown to Christchurch. He was diagnosed with three neck fractures, a broken collarbone and shoulder, as well as a severe laceration around the jaw and chin. However, there was no damage to the spine.

Tyler was one of the first on the scene and described his feeling of apprehension when the apprentice was lying on the track.

"We were watching the start of the race and when it fell, I rushed to try to reach it," he said.

"I arrived and he was in a terrible position and looked like he was gone.

"I had this terrible feeling in the stomach but thankfully, he started coming back after a few minutes."

Bholah, 29, joined the Tyler team last February after arriving in New Zealand from New Caledonia where he began his racing career. He lives in the Tyler family and is considered a member of the family.

"It was pretty quiet at home last night because everyone is upset about what happened," Tyler said.

"He became a family member here and my daughters love him.

"I was with him in the hospital as much as I could and he was losing consciousness awareness as he was taking a decent beating to the head when he touched the ground."

"He remembers a little bit of what happened when he said he thought the horse in front of him was a little relaxed and had nowhere to go.

"The best news we can hear is that there is no spinal injury, you just do not want to think about the consequences of what it would mean otherwise."

"He will have a long recovery time after his injuries have been operated, but I think we are all very grateful because it could have been a lot worse."

Tyler also reported that Morena Roc survived the fall in one piece despite scrapes and bruises.

– NZ Racing Desk