A cloud of sadness fell over the racing world on Wednesday when news emerged that 23-year-old jockey Stefano Cherchi had died following a tragic fall at Canberra in Australia last month.

The Sardinian-born rider had partnered more than a century of winners in Britain since his first as an apprentice to Marco Botti in April 2019, and was riding in Australia over the winter.

Cherchi, the partner of Kieren Fallon’s daughter Brittany, was placed in intensive care with a serious head injury following the fall on March 20th and had been kept company in recent weeks by family and close friends, including his compatriot and close ally Andrea Atzeni.

A statement released on Wednesday by the New South Wales Jockeys Association said: “With deep sadness, the Cherchi family have announced their beloved son Stefano passed away peacefully today. The family are very grateful for the love, prayers and messages sent by the racing community across the world.”

Tributes have poured in from across the world in the days that have followed. Irish flat jockey Eoin Walsh, who is based down under in Victoria, spoke of his close relationship with Cherchi in an interview with Sky Sports Racing.

“We spoke twice or three times a day on the phone and initially we made the plan to come out here together back in October,” said Walsh.

“I know he was a guy who always wanted to do better than he was doing, and always wanted to please everybody. He was really enjoying his life here and things were on the up; he was getting attention from a lot of different trainers and riders.

“They probably hated competing against him but I just know he was really enjoying it and this was looking like it was going to be his new home. I’ll make him proud.”

Botti has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds on behalf of the racing industry in a “gesture of support and respect to the Cherchi family”.