The jockeys were immediately shifted to Hosmat Hospital and as per
reports from the hospital; Vijay
Kumar suffered fracture on his wrist while Babu escaped without
injuries. It was Rutherford who bore
the brunt of the fall, with injuries to spine either due to impact of
the fall or one of the horses’ leg
have gone over his back. The doctors are assessing the situation;
considering various options including surgery and are optimistic; that
they would be able to put the jockey back on the road to recovery though
the picture at this point of time is definitely cause for concern.
Daksinam hit the front at the start of the six furlong race which had 12
runners in the fray. Touching
Touching raced close to the rails and Tough Love (Imran Chisty) raced
along side while Strong Rumours was in between these two horses.
Rutherford was hoping for a gap between these two horses but the gap
kept narrowing as Tough Love was squeezing in. Strong Rumours had very
little galloping ground in front and the horse either clipped the heels
of the front-runner or stumbled, causing the jockey’s fall and the ones
immediately behind ended up piling on to the fallen ones in the front.
It is difficult to conclusively put the blame on any jockey for the
cause but the fact is when the horses find no where to go and are
cramped up, a stumble is a natural process. The jockeys live on the edge
of the sword as they quite often become victims of their lack of concern
for their fellow professionals. The authorities too haven’t helped
matters as they have, more often than not, allowed the offending
professionals go scot-free. A deterrent approach would go a long way in
ensuring that racing would be free of tragic mishaps.
