Jockey Chris Caserta mourned by loved ones on Gold Coast beach
Loved ones of drowned jockey Chris Caserta have made an emotional pilgrimage to the Gold Coast beach where he lost his life.
QLD News
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Jockey Chris Caserta’s girlfriend and the female friend he was swimming with when he drowned on the Gold Coast last week have shared tears and hugs on the beach where he tragically lost his life.
Caserta’s partner Brittany Wise and apprentice jockey Amy Graham were among dozens of friends who gathered on Surfers Paradise beach today to pay their respects.
Some came draped in Italian flags in a nod to Caserta’s heritage while others carried red, white and green balloons which they released into a flawlessly blue sky.
In emotional scenes, friends threw rose petals into the ocean before Ms Wise and Ms Graham shared a long, tearful embrace on the shoreline.
Ms Graham was having a late night swim with Caserta, 26, last Wednesday when they became caught in a rip.
She managed to make it back to shore but he disappeared. His body was found off the Southport Spit last Friday after a massive air and sea search.
She later told of her harrowing attempts to save him, “but we just kept getting dunked over and over again’.
Fellow jockey and close friend Les “Bubba” Tilley said with Caserta’s funeral expected to be held in Melbourne, the Gold Coast racing community had decided to hold a local service for him.
“We just wanted to come down and do something to honour him and say our final goodbyes,” Mr Tilley said.
“We’re not sure when the funeral’s on and the majority of us here won’t be able to go for Covid reasons.
“We’ve let off a few balloons and thrown some rose petals into the water and now we’ll go back to the White Rhino (bar) to tell a few stories about him.
“He was just a bloke who always had a smile on his face no matter what. He touched a lot of people.”
Mr Tilley, who won a race in Caserta’s honour last Saturday, said the racing community was hurting but there was relief that his body had been found.
“We’re thankful that they found him and he’s going to get a proper burial for his family – that was the biggest thing,” he said.
“It’s a big comfort for his mum and dad – they’ve got their son back.”
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