‘I don’t know what to say’: Wounded jockey left speechless by owner’s $20,000 promise

Colourful racehorse owner Tony Ottobre has promised to give an extra $20,000 to injured jockey Declan Bates if his horse, Jenni The Fox, wins the $1 million Supernova slot race at Pakenham on Saturday.

Bates was booked to ride the 60-1 outsider in the feature event but had to be replaced by young hoop Jet Stanley after fracturing his pelvis and injuring the base of his spine in a nasty fall at Ballarat on Monday.

The Irish jockey is waiting to hear whether he needs surgery. He is not expected to return to racing until next year.

As a result of the fall, Ottobre and his wife, Lynn, set up a Christmas GoFundMe Page for Bates and his family, kick-starting the account with a $30,000 donation. It is already up to $37,000.

Bates, who is best known for his association with Ottobre’s group 1-star Pride Of Jenni, did not know of the owner’s prizemoney vow when contacted by this masthead on Thursday.

“Tony’s a very generous man,” Bates said. “So, I don’t know what to say there. I guess we will be cheering her [Jenni The Fox] home then.

“I feel very privileged really. It came as a shock [the GoFundMe Page] and it wasn’t something that I was looking to do - for people to be donating towards my cause.”

Bates said he’d been preparing to ride a young horse in a jump out at Ballarat on Monday morning when it reared suddenly behind the gates and both of them fell.

“It hasn’t landed on top of me luckily, but as I fell away from it, I’ve landed awkwardly, smack bang on my tailbone and that’s caused the break,” he said.

“I had to be put on a splint board and required an ambulance to get to hospital. It’s nasty enough but certainly could be a lot worse.”

Bates said the heavy fall caused a break in the right side of his pelvis and a crack in his sacrum - a triangular bone at the base of the spine - as well as a suspected compression of the T4 vertebrae.

“I can use crutches as long as I’m not putting any weight on right-hand side,” he said.

“I’ve been referred to a surgeon in Melbourne, so I’m waiting for him to have a look at scans and stuff, and he’ll be able to give me a much better idea on a timeline.

“But from what I’m told, it doesn’t look like any surgery will be required, so I am hoping that’s the case.”

The jockey, who has won four of his five group 1s on Pride Of Jenni, said the prospect of reuniting with the star mare next year would keep him motivated.

“I haven’t had any discussions, but the expectation is she’ll be back for an autumn campaign, so that’s definitely something to work towards,” he said.

Bates was dumped from riding Pride Of Jenni after a poor run in last year’s Cox Plate, but was reunited with his favourite mare during this year’s spring carnival, which included a thrilling victory in the group 1 Empire Rose Stakes at Flemington.

“We’re grateful to Tony and Lynn. I think we are almost like family at this stage,” Bates said.

“Sometimes you have your ups and downs within your family, but he’s always been extremely kind to us, and any generosity that comes our way we will pay it forward.

“To be honest I felt a bit awkward receiving donations from people. Obviously, it’s not great that I’m injured but at the same time I don’t feel I’m in a position where my bills aren’t going to be paid.

“So, myself and [my wife] Jen have been talking about it, and we will forward on donations to the Leila Rose Foundation, a cause close to everyone’s hearts.” The Leila Rose Foundation supports families affected by rare childhood cancer.

Bates said he’d been looking forward to riding the Lucy Yeomans-trained Jenni The Fox, among the horses Ottobre named after his late daughter Jennifer, in Saturday’s Supernova - a slot race in which 14 starting positions are sold to stakeholders, who then find a horse to represent them.

“She was an outsider in the Meteorite race (1200m) at Cranbourne, and she ran a cracker,” he said.

“We drew wide, and we got back, and she flew home to finish fourth, just missed a placing. I think the 1400m should actually really suit her.”

Bates will watch the race from home in Ballarat alongside wife Jennifer and two daughters Molly, six, and Saoirse, four.

“The girls were warned they can’t jump around on top of me for a little while, but no doubt they’ll be delighted to have their dad home a lot more than I regularly would be,” Bates said.

Meanwhile, Racing Victoria and the industry’s chief vet, Dr Grace Forbes, agreed to an out-of-court settlement after 12 hours of mediation at the Fair Work Commission on Thursday.

The settlement was agreed to in principle and is expected to be finalised before Commissioner Trevor Clarke on Friday, December 19, bringing their legal fight to a close after Forbes lodged an application with the commission for an order to stop bullying.

Racing Victoria CEO Aaron Morrison strongly rejected Forbes’ allegations that she was pressured into allowing international horses at “high risk of injury to travel and run” in the Melbourne Cup.

Nick Harrington, the legal counsel for Forbes, told the commission, “An agreement has been reached in principle on confidential terms to bring the application to an end … but there are some things that need to happen between the parties, particularly the ironing out of a deed itself.”

No further evidence will be given in the case provided the agreement is finalised.

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