- Via Sistina left her connections feeling nervous
- Followed incident at Mooney Valley track on Tuesday
- Involved champion Kiwi jockey James McDonald
Via Sistina is considered is a genuine Cox Plate chance this weekend – but hearts were in mouths on Tuesday after the mare threw superstar jockey James McDonald from the saddle and briefly galloped around the famous Mooney Valley track riderless.
The dramatic incident unfolded just after 6.30am during trackwork, with both the horse and hoop remarkably left uninjured.
Decorated trainer Chris Waller will wait until Saturday morning before making a final decision as to whether the seven-year-old will jump from the barriers for the time-honoured, Group One race over 2040 metres – but was relieved she appeared to be fine after the stayer was assessed by a vet.
Waller initially feared the worst after Via Sistina made her around the iconic circuit minus McDonald, who was left with a ‘little bit of a sore shoulder’ after tumbling onto the turf.
‘A bandage has come loose. She stood on the bandage and a piece of gear has broken and she sort of tripped and that piece of gear has got caught up in her back legs and that’s given her a fright,’ Waller told The Age.
‘She’s run on fear for a couple of laps and, fortunately, there was a clerk of the course out there and picked the horse up and she settled back down again.
‘She doesn’t have a hair missing. There’s no blood, she’s taken no skin off.
‘We’ve had our vet look at her and a Racing Victoria vet look over her thoroughly….I can’t believe it.’
Connections of Via Sistina were anxious on Tuesday after the mare threw superstar jockey James McDonald from the saddle (pictured left) during trackwork at Mooney Valley
The dramatic incident unfolded just after 6.30am, with both the horse and hoop remarkably uninjured (pictured, a riderless Via Sistina)
Trainer and TV presenter Amy Yargi trying to stop Via Sistina after James McDonald was unseated on Tuesday at Mooney Valley
Superstar jockey James McDonald was left with a ‘little bit of a sore shoulder’ following the incident (pictured, before the fall) – he still hopes to ride the mare in the Cox Plate
It comes after jockey Jason Collett was praised for his bravery and compassion after his horse collapsed mid-race at Sydney’s Royal Randwick last weekend.
Collett, 33, also lifted the lid on what first went through his mind after the shock fall, with the hoop immediately rushing to the aid of Think About It, after seeing the six-year-old gelding in some distress.
‘I turned to the horse and feared he had done something to his leg, so I went to hold him down,’ he said.
‘If a horse tries to run around on three legs, it’s not good at all.
‘As I got closer, blood was pouring out of his nose…..I knew there had been a haemorrhage, so I raced around to his head and held him down.
‘I didn’t think he had long left. ‘Horses don’t generally survive that. I’m glad he did.’
Trainer Joe Pride paid tribute to Collett after the race, lauding him for his quick-thinking.
‘It’s all instinctual stuff when you get pelted off like that – your natural instinct is what it would be if you were in an accident, which is to check the person beside you,’ he said when speaking about Collett’s actions.
‘Jason has been around horses all his life. He wanted to comfort him.
‘The vet looked at the horse again on Monday, the heart is good. Saturday was a pretty traumatic day for him, but he [Think About It] doesn’t seem to be too scarred by it.’
