Jockey Declan Cannon will likely need surgery after fracturing a couple of vertebrae in a spill Sept. 13 at Indiana Grand, agent Tim Hanisch said Sept. 14. He has movement in all of his extremities, the agent noted.
Cannon was injured when his mount, e Five Thoroughbreds' Zoikes, clipped heels when racing in fourth with about a quarter of a mile remaining in Monday's fifth race, an allowance optional claimer on turf. Zoikes fell and Cannon was unseated, and numerous horses trailing them had to alter course to avoid the fallen horse and jockey.
One horse, Breonna, jumped to avoid the spill, and another, Machine Gun Mary, was checked, "losing all chance and was just eased to the wire," the Equibase chart read. Stewards conducted an inquiry but made no change to the order of finish, nor were any wagering refunds made.
Zoikes, tracking pacesetters Be Patient and Longleggedlaverne, bid between horses when the incident occurred. Fireside Kitten rallied inside before tipping out to win the race under Marcelino Pedroza with the Fernando De La Cruz-ridden Bernadette the Jet, who stalked the pace early in third, finishing as a distant runner-up.
Hanisch said Cannon was knocked unconscious in his fall and hospitalized overnight with chest pain and other injuries. Initial tests did not find any fractures before magnetic resonance imaging revealed the fractured vertebrae.
"That will put him out for the near future, for a few months," Hanisch said.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to aid in his recovery expenses.
Brendan Walsh, the trainer of Zoikes, said Tuesday that his filly was body sore after taking "a fair tumble." He expressed relief that both horse and rider were not in worse condition.
"The filly went down, and she went down hard, too. They were getting to the end of the race. They were going for it," Walsh said. "It happened so fast. There was nothing he could do. Thank God he's OK. It would shake you up pretty good if you saw it."
Cannon, a winner of 300 races from 2,839 rides in North America, has ridden primarily in Kentucky and Indiana in recent weeks.
