Nikita Beriman reflects on Ipswich fall which will see fellow hoop Mark Du Plessis sidelined for two months
Beriman looked set to win on $1.30 favourite Fast Fun last Thursday when the filly suddenly faltered and she was thrown off, creating a domino effect in which three other riders fell from their horses.
Fortunately, Beriman, Tiffani Brooker and Emily Lang escaped any serious injury and were later given the green light to ride at the Sunshine Coast meeting on Saturday.
But Zimbabwe-born hoop Du Plessis was taken to Ipswich Hospital with a badly broken rib and three fractured vertebrae after being knocked out cold in the accident.
And in a 'heartbreaking' situation for Beriman, trainer Matt Hoysted and the filly's owners, three-year-old Fast Fun had to be euthanised due to her significant injuries.
Asked whether it was the worst accident that Beriman had been involved in since her career started in 2002, she said: 'Absolutely, and obviously I wasn't aware that anyone else fell. I went down first and made sure that I tucked and rolled.
'It wasn't until I rolled over and then I saw jockey, jockey, jockey. I thought 'oh gosh, it was like a war zone, what the hell happened?'
'My horse rolled left and I went right. We were so lucky.
'It was very quick. There was no time to react or think. It was like 'I'm going to win' and the next minute I was on the ground.'
In a dramatic twist, Beriman rode gelding Chakra Boy to a 2.5-length victory in a 1000m sprint (race 5) just two days after the dramatic incident but after the final race on Caloundra Cup Day, she displayed symptoms of delayed concussion.
Stewards ordered that Beriman be stood down for the next 12 days and she must provide a medical clearance before she can ride again.
Du Plessis was feeling pretty sore on Saturday when he was released from hospital.
'All the meds have kicked in so it's a bit more comfortable at the moment,' he told Racenet.
'It's just really hard getting out of bed with a broken rib and a few other (back) fractures but it could've been a lot worse I suppose.
'I remember in the race being taken out but I can't remember anything after that.
'I then remember waking up in the ambulance and (trainer) Kelly Schweida speaking to me.
'I must have blacked out again after that because I woke up in the hospital, really needing a bit of help.'
Du Plessis was cleared of a suspected broken hand but doctors feared he might have suffered a punctured lung.
'I was complaining about my hand and sounding really raspy,' the 49-year-old said.
'In the hospital after I'd had scans, the doctor said the rib that I had broken was scratching my lungs and that's why they kept me overnight, to see if that would heal itself and it probably did.
'I was pretty lucky the lung didn't puncture. I've had a lot of falls but this is up there as one of the worst.
'I had a really bad one in Macau that I can't remember anything of and I was out for three months with bad concussion but that was a long time ago.
'Every fall you can walk away from and go home is a lucky one.'
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