'As soon as I could I ran to him. I was so happy he was alive'

Racegoers at Wetherby on Saturday, along with viewers of Racing UK and Channel 4, were afforded an emotional glimpse of the close bond that exists between racehorses and the grooms who care for them when a tearful but beaming Jessica Gulrich led Ballyoptic past the stands after a crunching last-flight fall that had resulted in the screens being erected and had many fearing the worst. Gulrich, who is from Germany and has been with Ballyoptic's trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies for four years, reflected on an emotional day . . .

It's a bad sign when the screens go up and so I thought he could be dead. So my first thought when I got down to him was, 'Thank God, he's alive'.

I watched the race on the big screen with all the other grooms and I feared the worst. As soon as I was allowed on the track I ran to him, as any of us would have done, and I was so happy he was alive.