THE EVER-PRESENT DANGER REARS ITS UGLY HEAD

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Spirit Of Boom’s runaway win in the Goldmarket Handicap at the Gold Coast on Monday might have briefly lifted the spirits of the Tony Gollan stable, but the thoughts of the young trainer as he left the trophy presentation ceremony after the race remained firmly on the hope of the recovery of his good friend Kristy Banks.

Banks suffered serious injuries in the first race at Toowoomba on New Year’s Eve when her mount August Bishop crashed to the ground approaching the 900m mark. Banks was first transferred to Toowoomba Hospital where her condition was stabilised before she was airlifted to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane.

Banks’ fall occurred a little less than three hours after a similar incident had rocked the meeting at Doomben when Secrets Untold clipped heels when leaving the straight for the first time in a 2020m race. The nine-year-old tore into the turf and sent jockey Scott Seamer flying between flailing hooves with the rider inches away from disaster.

Thankfully for Seamer, he avoided contact with his stricken mount and managed to roll away to safety. Secrets Untold was not so lucky. A broken shoulder meant the horse had to be euthanaised.

So in the space of three hours race-goers were given the worst of reminders of the dangers inherent in the sport as it applies to both horse and rider. Two falls in similar circumstances, both through no fault at all of those who came undone, had produced different outcomes … both devastating to those involved.

For the ever-game and honest Secrets Untold it was the end of the road. For Kristy Banks it is the start of a long road back to rehabilitation. A positive point is that, just as there was an outpouring of support for trainer Philip Cox and his wife at the track in their darkest hour after the Secrets Untold’s fall, so too has the racing community rallied around Banks.

Hopefully, in some small way, that support from the racing community can help keep Bank’s spirits in fighting mode.

As Tony Gollan stepped away from the Goldmarket trophy presentation ceremony, he gave an update on Bank’s current status and his hopes for her future recovery.

Tony Gollan: “It was devastating news. At the present stage Kristy has got a broken back. She has undergone surgery. She has other injuries … broken ribs, punctured lung which are all minor compared to the back injury which is the main issue.

“At this stage she is paralysed from the waist down. It is early days so nothing is definite. We are hopeful. We are just all hoping and praying that over the next two weeks, when the swelling subsides, that she will start getting some feeling back. That would be a great result for her … but obviously it is all pretty worrying.

“I have seen a replay of the incident. She was just in behind the leaders. The horse has come out from just in front of her and she’s just clipped the heels and gone down and she’s hit very hard.

“The horse did go down as well, but it went down behind other horses so it was hard to see whether the horse went over her or not … but she hit the ground very hard.

“I’ve been training for probably twelve years and Kristy’s been with me for ten years, riding work every day … six days a week … and riding for me in races. That’s a very long relationship for a jockey and trainer.

“We are a similar age. She is two years younger than me. We’ve had our ups and downs, but I tell you … she is like a sister to me. I think of her like a sister.

“It's a very trying time for both families … her family and our family. My partner Skye (Bogenhuber) is distraught. We are a tight-knit stable. We are all very upset.

“All our prayers are with Kristy.”

As are the prayers of the entire racing community.

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