Racing rallies to give tragic Freddy support
TRAINER Ed Vaughan has spoken of the ‘determination’ he believes will help jockey Freddy Tylicki rebuild his life after a shocking fall at Kempton left him paralysed.
Tylicki had been due to partner Vaughan’s filly Mehronissa at yesterday’s Breeders’ Cup meeting here in Southern California but he was seriously injured in a four-horse melee involving his mount, Nellie Dean, last Monday.
He suffered a T7 paralysis, leaving him with movement in the upper half of his body only.
In a heart-wrenching twist, the jockey had just received a US visa he required to ride Mehronissa and was excited about the trip to America.
Although, Mehronissa ultimately missed the cut for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, she raced in her standby target, the Senator Ken Maddy Stakes on the Breeders’ Cup undercard.
With Frankie Dettori taking the ride, Mehronissa was unplaced.
Vaughan said: ‘It has been a difficult few days. I feared the worst but when the news came through it was still a shock.
‘Freddy is a real character and a team player. When he rode for you — win or lose — he would calling you afterwards to give his feedback.
‘He won on Mehronissa on her two-year-old debut [in August 2014] at Newmarket and has ridden her regularly since, including her last four runs. Freddie is a very popular lad. His riding career may be over but he is one of the most determined people I’ve ever met. I’m sure he will make a success of whatever he does in the future.’
Dettori added: ‘I am just praying Freddy will be all right.’
Tylicki, 30, whose late father was a three-time champion jockey in Germany, was champion Flat apprentice in 2009. The chance to partner Mehronissa on one of the biggest stages in world racing was an example of the growing number of opportunities in better quality races and he was enjoying his best season. He partnered his first Group One race winner on James Fanshawe-trained Speeding Boarding at Deauville in August and made it two top-level wins on the same filly in the Prix de L’Opera at Chantilly.
The racing world has rallied to help Tylicki and a charity fund-raising page raised almost £67,000 in the first 16 hours.
Paul Struthers, chief executive of the Professional Jockeys’ Association, said: ‘Racing may have many issues and flaws but its biggest strength is how it pulls together in difficult, tragic times. Freddy is one of the most popular members of the weighing room and will not lack for support, with offers flooding in. The life of a jockey is unbelievably tough and we take the sacrifices they make and risks they face for granted. Injury is part of their lives.
‘Even so, serious life-changing injuries are mercifully rare and when they occur it hits all jockeys hard.’
Inevitably, rider safety will come under scrutiny but much has been done and jockeys now wear hinged foam-sectioned body protectors which do not count in their weight.
Meanwhile, the best result at the Breeders’Cup on Friday was the second place of Aidan O’Brien’s Lancaster Bomber in the Juvenile Turf.