Ex-apprentice seriously ill after fall
Former apprentice Stephen Brown Jr remains seriously ill following a fall in a Wangaratta jump-out.
Brown was flown to Royal Melbourne Hospital in an induced coma following the fall in north-east Victoria on Wednesday.
Victorian Jockeys’ Association chief executive Matthew Hyland said there were some positive signs late on Wednesday night.
“When I left last night the latest update was the doctors were a little more positive with the scans and the tests they ran,” Hyland told RSN927.
Hyland said the details he had around the fall were sketchy but he believed the horse Brown was riding broke down resulting in another falling over the top.
“He was placed in an induced coma by paramedics there on course and then choppered down to Royal Melbourne,” Hyland said.
“He’s got cracked ribs, a crack in his neck and a punctured lung as well, but the main concern is with his brain.”
Brown was indentured to his father Stephen and constantly faced weight battles throughout his career.
His last race ride was at The Valley last November before he retired, becoming a registered track rider.