Irish jockey Bryan Cooper has been hailed a hero after his quick thinking prevented serious injury to one of his race competitors.
Cooper was riding Gunnery Sergeant at Gowran Park when he and fellow jockey Robbie Power, on board Neverushacon, both fell at the same fence.
Cooper took a heavy tumble but quickly realised that Power had become tangled in his straps and was still attached to his horse, hanging underneath it.
Fearing the startled horse would bolt, Cooper ran across to it to grab the reins and keep it still until Power could be untangled.
Had he not acted so fast, then Power could have suffered serious injury being dragged around the racecourse by the frightened Neverushacon.
Power was grateful to his rival for his help. He told the Racing Post: “It’s amazing how quickly you react when you’re in trouble. I knew I was stuck and I got a hold of the reins and was able to pull the horse back towards Bryan. Fair play to him, he reacted very quickly.
“The strap on the leather wrapped around my ankle and that’s what caught me. It’s one of those freak accidents, hopefully it never happens again and luckily a disaster was avoided. I live to tell the tale of it.”
Cooper has received great praise from online commentators, with many hailing the camaraderie and sportsmanship demonstrated by the Tralee-born jockey.
Although Power was obviously grateful to Cooper for his rescue act, it was back to business the following day as Power raced past Cooper after the final fence at Navan to claim victory in the very first race of the day.
Take a look at the video of the incident below. Cooper is in the purple colours and Power in the black with the orange cap.
The incident was reminiscent of a similar act of sportsmanship demonstrated by an Irish jockey earlier this year.
Jody McGarvey was knocked unconscious during a race at Roscommon after his horse whipped its neck back and caught him square in the face. He was about to fall and be at risk of being trampled by the other horses running but was pushed back up by fellow rider Danny Mullins.
Click here to read more and to see the video.
