John Wallace, the trainer of Cox Plate hopeful Shoot Out, is finding it hard to come to grips with the death of star jockey Stathi Katsidis.
Wallace hasn't yet thought of finding a replacement rider for Shoot Out in the Cox Plate but is hoping the AJC Australian Derby winner can win for his close friend.
"I can't believe it," Wallace said."What a waste of a life. He was a nice guy."
Katsidis was found dead in his Hendra home, on Brisbane's northside, early on Tuesday by his partner Melissa Jackson.
Police said there were no suspicious circumstances but were investigating the cause of death.
It's not known whether drugs may have been involved as Katsidis had a troubled past with drugs and alcohol.
He served a nine-month disqualification for testing positive to ecstasy in 2008 and also battled weight problems.
In February 2008, Katsidis had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit when pulled over by police at Toowoomba.
He was fined $1000 for drink driving and disqualified from driving for six months.
Katsidis showed no signs he had returned to his bad old days of using drugs and was even playing tennis with fellow jockeys on Monday.
Wallace said he saw Katsidis at the Sunshine Coast meeting on Sunday when the jockey told him he couldn't wait to get to Melbourne.
Katsidis was due to ride Shoot Out in the Group One Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on Saturday and in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington next month.
"I had a cup of coffee with Stathi after the last at Caloundra on Sunday and he was all go," Wallace said.
"He told me he couldn't wait to get to Melbourne and that he'd be down on Thursday.
"A lot of people don't realise it but he helped a lot of people including apprentices and did a lot of good things.
"It's a total shock."
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