A horrifying video captured live on television has gone viral, showing the dramatic moment a powerful thoroughbred racehorse unleashed a devastating kick on a young female stable worker, launching her into the air like a rag doll.
The shocking incident unfolded at Redcar racecourse in North Yorkshire on Tuesday afternoon, just moments before a Class 6 handicap race. Chloe Briody, a 25-year-old travelling head groom for leading trainer Richard Fahey, was checking the stirrups on three-year-old gelding Kameko Fever when the animal suddenly lashed out with both hind legs.
In the heart-stopping footage, which has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times online, the calm-looking horse, wearing cheekpieces that limit its side and rear vision, abruptly shifts its weight onto its front legs before delivering a ferocious double-barrelled kick. Briody, dressed in a black top, is struck squarely on her side and sent tumbling across the grass in the parade ring as onlookers gasp in horror.
Medical staff rushed to the scene, with screens quickly erected around the stricken groom as racing continued. Briody was taken to the hospital by ambulance for checks, but mercifully escaped with nothing more serious than heavy bruising.
Trainer Richard Fahey, whose stable is based in North Yorkshire, confirmed the good news, telling reporters: "It was one of my girls, Chloe, and she is fine. She went to the hospital in an ambulance, they took an X-ray and everything is fine." He added that she is recovering at home and is expected to return to work soon.
The experienced handler, who works as the travelling head groom for Fahey and his brother Peter, has years of hands-on experience with thoroughbreds. Kameko Fever, a relatively inexperienced three-year-old running in first-time cheekpieces, was being led around the paddock by his personal groom when Briody approached from the side to make a final adjustment.
