Dettori Thought Jockeys Were ‘Dead’

“We’re dead, mate. This is it. We’re gone.”

That’s what jockey Frankie Dettori said to colleague Ray Cochrane as their light plane crashed shortly after takeoff Thursday, not far from Newmarket Racecourse in England.

The pilot, Patrick Mackey, was killed, while Dettori and Cochrane were able to scramble from the flaming wreckage. Surgeons inserted two screws into Dettori’s right leg, fusing a broken ankle, and he probably won’t resume riding until August. Cochrane, with lesser injuries, will be sidelined for about a month. Richard Hills, another jockey, decided at the last minute not to take the plane, electing to drive the 100 miles to the racecourse, where all three jockeys were scheduled to ride Friday.

“We would like to express our sympathy to the [pilot’s] family,” Dettori and Cochrane said in a joint statement. “We owe our lives to his skill and courage.”