AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after a jockey broke his neck, back and collarbone in a mysterious mid-race fall.
Top South African rider Keagan Latham will have surgery and have to wear a neck brace for the next few weeks following his brutal unseating.
Latham, 33, was tossed off 100-1 shot Who Loves To Dance in a race at Hawkesbury racecourse in Australia on Tuesday.
He was concussed and rushed to hospital for treatment, where doctors gave him a 14-week recovery time.
Stewards launched a probe into the incident, with the reason for the horse’s fall unexplained.
Latham, who spent six years racing in the UK, was detached from the back of the field when the horse went down, and no other horses were around him.
An inspection of the track took place but stewards found no area of concern where the horse came down around the 2f mark.
And a post-race exam by a vet failed to reveal any abnormalities with the four-year-old gelding.
Latham’s manager Ryan Roberts said: “He is all right considering.
“He said he has a bit of a headache from the fall but isn’t in pain.
“The neck brace will have to stay on for a few weeks but he won’t need an operation and the collarbone will be operated on next week.”
The fall marks a torrid fortnight for the jockey after a bolt hit his head ‘like a bullet’ as he was doing some DIY.
Latham posted a photo of himself in hospital with a nasty gash on his head that required seven stitches.
He tweeted: “I think its fair to say I’m probably a better jockey than doing handy work around the house.
“Fixing garage door which struggles to close, removing four bolts to take small railing wheel out, but the tension was that strong, the last bolt shot our like a bullet, reaching its target.”
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