Sydney: Stefano Cherchi, a jockey who won more than 100 races in the UK, has passed away after sustaining wounds from a fall in Australia last month. The New South Wales Jockeys Association confirmed the passing of the 23-year-old.
Cherchi, who was born in Italy, was riding in the Affinity Electrical Technologies Plate at Canberra in March when his horse, Hasime, fell. He was given medical attention at the track before being taken to the hospital, where it was discovered that he suffered a head injury and internal bleeding.
The New South Wales Jockeys Association said in a post on X that, “With deep sadness, the Cherchi family have announced their beloved son Stefano passed away peacefully today. The family are very grateful for the love, prayers and messages sent by the racing community across the world.”
Cherchi achieved most of his success in Britain by riding horses trained by his fellow Italian Marco Botti. His latest ride in Britain was with Botti’s horse at Chelmsford in November. While in the UK, Cherchi rode 38 winners for Botti, and the Newmarket trainer regarded him as a son.
“It’s just devastating news for all of us. We knew it was a bad fall and we knew things didn’t look great, but you live in hope and hope for a miracle. Hopefully, he’s going to a better place and we will never forget him – he will always be with us. His charm and his way of behaving with people, he was such a nice guy. For me, he was a little bit like a son to be honest,” Botti said.
Cherchi made his debut in Britain in 2018, and he rode his first winner in the following April. He partnered with a diverse range of trainers, including Amy Murphy from Newmarket and Saeed bin Suroor from Godolphin. One of his notable victories was riding the Botti-trained Without Destination at Wolverhampton.
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