Fallen jockey Taiki Yanagida inspired heartfelt tributes and plenty of tears as he was farewelled at a public memorial service at Matamata racecourse yesterday.
The 28-year-old jockey died in Waikato Hospital last Tuesday, six days after a race fall at Cambridge that saw him placed in an induced coma he never woke from.
Up to 400 people gathered at the ceremony at Taiki's home track, including Yanagida's mother, Kayano, and Chiaki, one of his two sisters, who had flown from their native Japan to be with him before he died.
The family and very close personal friends had gathered for a private ceremony and cremation last Friday, but yesterday's service was a chance for those close to Yanagida, particularly from the horse racing industry, to join together.
"It was a very fitting memorial which demonstrated how respected and loved Taiki was," said Matamata racing stalwart Dennis Ryan.