JOCKEY Dane O’Neill is set to have surgery in the next few days after his sickening fall at the start of a race.
The 2.30 at Wolverhampton on Tuesday was voided after O’Neill smashed into the ground just seconds into the all-weather contest.
The race was voided as medics rushed to threat O’Neill on the track
The first race at @WolvesRaces has been voided after a nasty incident involving jockey Dane O'Neill coming out of the stalls.
Dane has been stretchered off the track, and we send him our best wishes
pic.twitter.com/S5EAEbMDsl
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 11, 2023
Dane’s wife Laura shared an update on his condition on Facebook.
She said he had fractured a vertebrae in his back and broken several ribs.
She wrote: “Following his fall at Wolverhampton Dane was treated on the track before being transported by the racecourse ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
“He had a prompt assessment including scans where a fractured thoraxic vertebre and some fractured ribs were discovered.
“Dane is likely to have surgery in the next few days and the expectation is he will make a full recovery after a period of rehabilitation.
“Dane and his wife Laura would like to thank the medical staff for their care and are grateful for all the best wishes received from his friends and colleagues in racing.”
Veteran Irish jockey O’Neill, who has over 1,700 career winners, was unseated from 22-1 Eagle Eyed Tom shortly after the stalls opened in the 1m1½f Class 5 contest.
Medics rushed to treat him on-track and the race was voided after the jockey could not be moved away from danger before the horses came round again.
Sky Sports Racing pictures showed the other jockeys and horses slowing to a trot after the white flag was flown by stewards.
Jason Weaver, reporting from the track for Sky, said: “He had a nasty fall.
“The initial feeling from the other jockeys was that after he went down he tried to get up but went down again – but that’s speculation.
“The reports from the track are that he was conscious throughout.”
Clerk of the course Fergus Cameron said at the time: “All I can say is that Dane was conscious during treatment and after being looked at in the ambulance, he was taken to hospital for further assessment.”
Initial fears around a back injury proved accurate and it appears O’Neill will be set for a considerable time in rehab before making his race-riding return.
The jockey had lined up on the Charles Hill-trained three-year-old gelding.
The horse had never finished better than fourth in three career starts and was one of the outsiders in the 10-runner contest.
O’Neill appeared to be caught in the middle of a barging match at the start of the race.
His mount quickly lost action and O’Neill plummeted into the ground.
Punters were in shock at the scenes and used the opportunity to wish O’Neill all the best.
One said: “What happened at Wolverhampton? Never seen a race stopped mid-race like that before.”
While another wrote: “Absolutely everything crossed for Dane O’Neill after that at Wolverhampton.”
