Two weeks after a race incident at a Canberra meeting, jockey Stefano Cherchi died.
He was 23 years old.
He had been living and working in Australia for some time, and he was one of three riders who got injured during a horror fall at the meeting at the Thoroughbred Park on March 20.
Hasime, which was ridden by Cherchi, fell as the group went past the 800m mark.
Two other horses, namely Epic Statement and Dunjenni, also crashed into the fallen rider.
With deep sadness, the Cherchi family have announced their beloved son Stefano passed away peacefully today.
The family are very grateful for the love, prayers & messages sent by the racing community across the world. 💔💔💔
— NSW Jockeys (@nswjockeys) April 3, 2024
Although both riders, namely Jeff Penza and Shaun Guymer, were able to survive the incident, Cherchi was rushed to a hospital in an induced coma.
He was kept in the hospital until he died on Wednesday.
He arrived in Australia earlier this year and was based at Warwick Farm, which is a training facility in Sydney.
Before his accident, Cherchi had been a successful apprentice jockey in the UK, where he rode over a hundred winners.
Before his fall, he had scored two victories in Australia.
Following news of the incident reaching the UK, a minute’s silence was held at a racing meeting in England.