Sydney-based jockey Reece Potter is battling for his life in a Sydney hospital after a sickening race fall at the Tottenham Picnic Races on Saturday.
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Potter was riding the Rodney Robb-trained Half Handy in the Class B Handicap (1400m) when the $2.30 favourite crashed to the turf shortly after the start.
Early reports suggested that Half Handy, which was put down, broke a pelvis, however a thorough report into what caused the fall will come via a stewards inquiry.
Ambulance officers worked on stabilising Potter’s condition before he was transported to Dubbo and then airlifted to Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
The fall soured what had been a marvellous day of racing with Robb training a treble, two of which were ridden by Potter.
Yesterday morning it was revealed Potter, who is in his early 20s, had suffered a collapsed lung and some brain injuries, with doctors leaving him in an induced coma while they assessed what to do next.
Nyngan-based Robb yesterday admitted to having little sleep on Saturday night as he worried about the condition of the rider.
“Gee, it’s not often you get three winners and wish you’d never left home, it’s just a tragedy what happened to the boy,” Robb said.
“I spoke to his grandfather Harry Williams at 8.30am this morning and things didn’t sound flash but we just have to hope and pray that he will make it through.
“I spent half an hour with Reece while the ambulance guys worked on him and it didn’t look good but the good thing is they got him to Sydney and he is in the best of care down there now.
“These things are always in the back of your mind when you go to the races. You can’t stop accidents from happening but it still doesn’t make things like this any easier to handle.”
Central west chief steward Todd Smith, who was one of the first people on the scene of the fall, said an inquiry into the circumstances of the fall would be opened.
But he added that at this stage, the priority for the local industry is hoping Potter can recover.
“We will have to get the riders in at some stage and take evidence from them but right now we just hope that Reece gets through this,” Smith said.
“We have had a look at the film but at this stage it is too early to know what happened.”
