Kiwi racehorse Des de Jeau falls over after a jump at the Steeplechase, all the other horses run past him, he gets up from an improbable recovery along with his Jockey then sprints on to not only finish but win the race. His Jockey Aaron Kuru is still to this day unsure of how it all happened.
"A few of the boys that were out there they were shocked to see me join back into the race because they'd seen us fall but after the race, they were just shocked about what happened and I think they were surprised just as much as I was," says Kuru.
Remounting rules state that the Jockey has to stay connected with their horse at all times, and Kuru did just that when he felt the Gelding relax beneath him.
"As you see in the footage my hands never left the horses neck or the reigns so I was still part of the horse, so lucky enough I was allowed to remount without getting the horse vetted and I was allowed to continue."
The 5-year-old Bay Gelding horse got himself back in the main pack within seconds and touted as the 'second favourite' for the race. Kuru says Des de Jeau is in top shape and will be continuing his racing career.
"I'm getting all the credit but I think we should be pointing at him because he's the one that's picked himself back up and finished the race off very strong," says Kuru.
The spectacle happened over the weekend at the Truss Maiden Steeplechase held in Awapuni. Kuru is a former New Zealand Black Sox softball player but says as far as athletic accomplishments go this moment tops them all.
"I don't think you could ever beat representing your country, that's a massive achievement in itself but this is a different code and within being a jumps jockey I don't think I've had anything quite like this before so this was very exciting."