Dean Holland, a jockey, passed away following a fall at the Donald racetrack in Australia.
At the age of 34, Holland encountered a fall when his horse, Headingley, who was in second position, unexpectedly swerved inwards and smashed through the inner railing, causing Alana Kelly’s horse, Time To Rumble, to fall as well. Kelly, however, remained unharmed from the accident.
Racing Victoria‘s CEO, Andrew Jones, expressed his deepest sympathies and condolences to Dean’s partner Lucy, their children, family, friends, and coworkers, stating that the entire Victorian racing industry was profoundly shocked and saddened by the news of his untimely passing due to the accident at Donald.
Jones praised Dean as a talented lightweight jockey with over 1000 race wins and high regard among his fellow riders. He recently demonstrated his exceptional skill in the Group One Newmarket Handicap at Flemington.
The tragic loss of Dean serves as a somber reminder of the immense courage exhibited by all riders in the sport and has left the entire Victorian racing community and the national sport heartbroken.
In a statement following the jockey’s passing on April 24 at the Racecourse Road track in Donald, Victoria Police said they would write a report for the coroner.Holland fell around 1:30 pm, and despite paramedics’ efforts, he tragically died at the scene. His death is not considered suspicious.
The remaining events at Donald were subsequently cancelled. Holland started riding in 2005 and has since won over 1075 races, mostly in Victoria and South Australia but also in the Northern Territory and Tasmania.
Dean Holland celebrated his first Group One win in the 2010 Schweppes Oaks at Morphettville with Small Minds and secured his second victory in the Newmarket Handicap at Flemington just last month, riding In Secret.
The death of Holland is just the latest of several incidents at Australian tracks and his passing is tragically ironic as he was only riding the horse due to a horror mid-race fall in the Sires Produce Stakes at Flemington in Melbourne led to two of Australia’s top jockeys, Jamie Kah and Craig Williams, being rushed to the hospital.
Kah’s horse fell, causing Williams’ ride also to suffer a heavy tumble. Both horses quickly recovered, but the jockeys remained lying on the ground.
After Kah’s horse, Flyball, clipped the heels of the eventual race winner, she suffered head injuries and lost consciousness. Kah is now leading the Melbourne jockeys’ premiership.Although she was heavily concussed, Kah has been cleared of brain damage and was sedated while being observed overnight at Royal Melbourne Hospital. Her partner, fellow jockey Ben Melham, went to her bedside after winning the following race.
Williams experienced a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken finger, and a concussion, and was taken to Alfred Hospital. Both horses, Flyball and Dubenenko, suffered superficial injuries after being stepped on by other horses but appeared to avoid any severe harm. Matt Hyland, Victorian Jockeys’ Association boss, described Kah’s fall as “pretty severe” and stated she was unconscious for some time but has regained consciousness.
Holland took over riding In Secret in the Newmarket Handicap, winning the $1.5m Flemington feature.
Dean Holland, who replaced Kah in the day’s feature race, the Newmarket Handicap, kept his celebrations to a minimum out of respect for the injured jockeys. He expressed his thoughts and concerns for Jamie Kah and Craig Williams and acknowledged that he was fortunate to be able to ride one of Australia’s best sprinters that day.
The incident involving Kah and Williams came a week after another incident at Flemington meetings. The week before, jockeys Ethan Brown and Mark Zahra also suffered a fall.
Brown remains in Royal Melbourne Hospital with internal injuries after his horse, Maximillius, rolled on top of him. Zahra, on the other hand, returned to racing on Saturday and rode three winners on the nine-race card.
