Jockeys Lucky In Miracle Fall

Speers, 21, yesterday watched the video replay of the incident 300m from the finish in the St Margaret's School Handicap in which he rode raging favourite Fillydelphia.

He was nursing a dislocated and fractured jaw and a broken nose but Speers took the time immediately after looking at the video to ring his riding mate Luke Rolls who yesterday underwent surgery to re-align several fractured bones in his right foot.

In the incident, Speers accidentally made contact with Rolls and effectively pushed him off his horse.

"I rang Luke to apologise. It was just a natural reaction. I didn't think I'd ever be in a situation like that," Speers said.

"I was knocked out for a few moments and I wasn't really sure what happened until I saw the replay.

"I do remember thinking at the time Fillydelphia was cruising towards the leaders and going to win easily. Next moment I was hanging on to the other horse's neck.

"Looking at the replay I was heading in one minute and then copped a bump outwards which put me off balance."

As he was in mid-air and heading to the ground Speers instincts took over and he reached out to grab the neck of Care Bear, racing to his inside.

In doing so, he made solid contact with Rolls, pushing him straight off his horse.

Speers to managed to hang on to Care Bear's neck and made a valiant bid to swing himself up into the saddle but lost his hold and made a head-first dive into the turf.

After treatment at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, Speers was allowed to go home on Saturday night but will return today for surgery on his jaw.

Speers who broke a leg in a fall at Eagle Farm two years ago expects to be sidelined for four to six weeks.

Rolls will be longer. Doctors have told him he will be unable to walk for six weeks.

Eagle Farm is becoming a bad luck track for New Zealander Rolls with three of his four falls at the track.

"There was a bit of bumping but I didn't see Mitch coming until he was on top of me. I thought he was going back to his own horse and then I'm heading to the ground," Rolls said.

Rolls today should find out if his application for a 12 months extension of his apprenticeship is granted by Racing Queensland Limited stewards.

Former top class jockey Les Harris who has been a mentor of Speers for the past two years said the bizarre incident was a reminder of how quickly things happen in races.

"I can remember riding as an apprentice in a race at Eagle Farm and my horse just clipped the heels of the one horse in front and stumbled heavily," Harris said.

"I was thrown out of the saddle and to the side but one foot stayed in the stirrup iron.

"'I was off the horse but still attached by the foot and facing the wrong way. I saw 18 horses coming straight at me and thought 'I'm dead here' and next moment I was flung back on to the horse.

"Strange things do happen in races. Sometimes it's just your day to get lucky. Or unlucky."