Jockey Teo Nugent receives outpouring of support after major fall at The Valley

Hundreds of well wishes have been sent to the rising-star jockey who fractured his spine after falling from his horse at The Valley.

Injured jockey Teo Nugent has been discharged from hospital after a nasty race fall at The Valley. Picture: Instagram

Rising star jockey Teo Nugent has received an outpouring of support as he recovers from horrific injuries after a major fall on Saturday.

Nugent, 24, was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and suffered a fracture of his C1, after it appeared his mount Florescent Star was clipped, causing them to nosedive into the turf at The Valley’s Abell Stakes.

Florescent Star had to be humanely euthanised due to the extent of her injuries.

Nugent was in a stable condition and discharged from hospital on Sunday, with a neck collar and concussion.

His recovery is likely to take three to six months.

Racing manager Ashlee Beer told the Herald Sun Nugent had been flooded with hundreds of messages and support after the fall.

“We do really appreciate the well wishes and we thank everyone for their support,” Ms Beer said.

Jockey Teo Nugent suffered a C1 fracture after falling from horse Florescent Star in the Abell Stakes.

“Thankfully, he’s being discharged today with a C1 fracture and we’re thankful that he will be recovering from this,” she said on Sunday.

“Our thoughts are with Florescent Star’s connections.”

It is the third fall in three weeks at Melbourne racecourses after jockeys Ethan Brown and Mark Zahra were thrown from their horses in the same fall earlier in March, and Jamie Kah and Craig Williams fell last weekend at Flemington.

A Racing Victoria spokesman said stewards had opened inquiries into each of the falls over the past three Saturdays to determine the circumstances of each which includes considering whether any rider has breached the rules of racing.

“After taking initial evidence, the stewards have adjourned each of the inquiries to allow the injured riders to provide a statement as to what they believe caused the fall,” he said.

“The preliminary evidence indicates that two of the falls may not have been primarily caused by a contribution from any other rider, however it would be premature for the stewards to reach a conclusion without hearing from the injured riders.”

The spokesman said the stewards’ findings would determine whether any options are available to RV to mitigate the risk of similar incidents in the future.

“These will be considered when the facts are firmly established.

“In the meantime, riders have and will continue to be reminded by both the Stewards and the Victorian Jockeys’ Association (VJA) on the importance of riding in a safe and fair manner.”

Originally published as Jockey Teo Nugent receives outpouring of support after major fall at The Valley