Veteran Darwin jockey Wayne Davis was lucky to escape serious injury following a frightening mishap during trackwork at Fannie Bay on Wednesday morning.
In what can only be described as a freak accident, the 51-year-old was dislodged from the Phil Cole-trained Rock Wave when a plover struck the four-year-old gelding in the head as he was easing up following his work.
The popular NT racing identity, who is riding as well as ever, fell head first and remained motionless on the dirt surface until he was treated before he was taken to Darwin Hospital by ambulance.
Thankfully, he only suffered minor injuries to his neck and was treated for concussion – and incurred bruising to his shoulder and thigh.
A CT Scan also came back clear, so after spending Wednesday night in hospital for further observation he was released on Thursday and is now recovering at home.
It’s unlikely Davis will be returning to the saddle anytime soon, and it was his first accident since fracturing ribs and suffering mild concussion after being involved in a three horse fall at the end of July last year during the Darwin Cup Carnival.
“Not something that happens every day, it’s something that hardly ever happens for that matter,” Davis said when reflecting on Wednesday’s incident.
“Rock Wave had just completed his training and I was pulling up – he was still going at a fair clip as he was going through the motions of easing down.
“It probably would have been around 5.45am when a plover just flew up in front of his face and hit him right in the head.
“The timing could not have been any more impeccable even if you tried to do it a 1000 times over again.
“The horse got a fright and all of a sudden he just disappeared from underneath me.
“It was still pretty dark, it just startled him, and he’s obviously ducked from underneath me and I kept going – he went one way, I went the other way.
“I was speared head first into the track, which didn’t tickle at the time.
“We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Naturally, Davis feared the worst – that he may have injured either his neck or spine – so he didn’t move following the ordeal.
“I landed very awkwardly from a great height and at a solid speed – I didn’t feel very comfortable in the neck and head department, so I just proceeded to lay there until I had the aid of the track manager,” he said.
“A bit of concussion obviously from the heaviness of the fall – still quite tight in the neck.
“Just have to go and see a GP on Monday to go through the normal procedures as a precautionary measure, but other than that I spent about 26 hours in the emergency ward at Darwin Hospital.
“With concussion, it’s protocol you have to stay overnight so that they can observe you – so got out Thursday morning.
“Felt quite upbeat in the afternoon, just very tight in the neck and just a bit of a trauma to the body as a result of the impact following the fall.”
Rock Wave, a new arrival in the Cole stable from Victoria, escaped injury.
“It’s not every day a horse is going around the track and a bird flies into their path, and hits them in the head,” Davis said.
“If you do have concussion it’s compulsory to have time off, but that will enable the body to recover and we’ll be back in action before you know it.
“It’s only a minor setback – there’s always someone worse off, so we’ll put it behind us and soldier on.
“There’s nothing broken – I’m back home relaxing, so it’s onwards and upwards, just letting the body mend and settle down.
“Hopefully it won’t be long until I’m back at work, back to the drawing board and back doing what we love and that’s being a part of Team Cole and doing our best to get winners week in and week out – that’s all you can do.”
A philosophical Davis said the incident on Wednesday was part and parcel of a jockey’s life.
“When you’re riding horses day in and day out, every now and again you are going to have the odd fall,” he said.
“You can’t expect to go around squeaky clean and not have the occasional tumble because it’s just not possible.
“That’s why it’s compulsory to wear skull caps and vests to try and tick off all the safety boxes when things do happen – at least you’ve got the right gear on to ensure that you’re protected the best you can.
“The fall hasn’t phased me.
“When you’ve been race riding for 35 years, you just keep on keeping on because you love what you’re doing.”
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