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The parents of Tommie Jakes, the talented rider who died at the age of 19 , have paid tribute to their 'brilliant' son. Jeremy and Tonie Jakes said their son was happy and planning for the future before he sadly passed away a week ago . The teenager, who lived with them at the family home a short distance away from the racing town of Newmarket, was one of the sport's brightest young talents. He was found dead at his home last Thursday, hours after his final ride at Nottingham Racecourse on Wednesday afternoon. After riding his first winner in 2023, Tommie added 58 more to his record and had a job working for leading trainer George Boughey. Jakes's mum Tonie said her son, who has a twin Mickie and two more brothers Vinnie and Kyle, had arranged to go to a Halloween party with friends on the following Saturday. "He was planning for the future, planning for rides, planning for parties, planning his life," she said. Via the Newmarket Journal , Tonie added: "He was brilliant, he had a lot of wonderful friends and nothing seemed to be worrying him." Dozens of tributes have been paid to Tommie, including from his friend and weighing room colleague Mason Paetel and handler Linda Perratt, one of his biggest supporters. Dad Jeremy said his son 'loved' being a jockey and he was determined to be even better at it as the years went by. He told how Tommie seemed positive after returning home from Nottingham Racecourse, where he took one ride on an outsider for Ismail Mohammed. "When he got home he was dancing in the kitchen and after his chicken dinner he told his mum it was the best chicken he had ever had," Jeremy said. "He was up in his room and I could hear him chatting on the phone with his friends until gone midnight." A GoFundMe page to support the family, set up by their friend and racehorse owner Paul Corrigan, has raised just over £15,000 in a couple of days. Jockeys have been wearing black armbands for Jakes, who made 519 appearances on the track, while a number of racecourses fell silent as a mark of respect. His friend Mason Paetel, 17, spoke to Sky Sports Racing after steering the Joe Tickle-trained Sant Alessio to victory in a 1m handicap on Tuesday night. Choking up, he said: “Tonight, a special night. I lost my friend Tommie the other day, my best friend so that was for Tommie. 100 per cent, I’ll do him proud.” In a statement, Suffolk Police said the death is not being treated as suspicious and a file was being prepared for the coroner.
