Jockey Damian Browne walked back to the enclosure unaided after being tossed from Royal Jester soon after the start in the Magic Millions Maiden.
Browne feared the worst when Royal Jester put on a rodeo exhibition during the opening race on Magic Millions day on the Gold Coast after jumping from the barriers but was thankful the injury to his right leg was only minor.
“When I first laid down it was pretty painful and I thought `oh no’ but after a few seconds it didn’t feel so bad,” he said.
“I know one thing, I won’t make a buckjumping rider.”
Browne sensed Royal Jester was going to buck as soon as the gates opened.
“He put his neck down and started to buck so I tried to rev him out of it but he put in a few more rough ones and off I came,” he said.
Royal Jester caused havoc to a number of runners during the race, most notably to the winner Danhro near the 100m.
“Things got a bit interesting there for a few strides but fortunately my bloke was able to pick himself up again,” winning jockey Hugh Bowman said.
Danhro continued the successful run for Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes at the Magic Millions carnival.
“It’s a meeting we’ve always targeted and the key is to find the right horses and that’s what we did with this horse,” Michael Hawkes said.
“I was worried there for a few seconds that he was going to come crashing down but all’s well that ends well.”
