Chris Caserta death: Partner Brittany Wise shares heartbreaking message after jockey’s body found

The partner of jockey Chris Caserta has shared a heartbreaking message hours after his body was recovered following an ill-fated swim in Surfers Paradise.

Surf Life Saving Queensland lifesavers found Caserta in the waters off Main Beach at around 8.30am on Friday.

The 26-year-old Victorian jockey had been missing since going swimming with friend Amy Graham at Surfers Paradise on Wednesday night.

The pair were caught in a rip, with Graham later revealing her desperate bid to rescue Caserta before swimming to safety.

Now Caserta’s partner Brittany Wise, the daughter of horse trainer Steven Wise, has taken to Instagram to share her devastation.

“My man has been found and can be brought home,” she wrote on Friday night.

“I am broken. Today’s for you bub, I love you.”

Wise, who had been in a relationship with Caserta for two and a half years, also detailed her final conversation with the young jockey on the night he went missing.

She said Caserta had called her to tell her: “I promise I’ll talk to you throughout the night Ok bubby I love you so much.”

“And that was the last time I heard from him,” Wise said.

“I wish we could wake up from this horrible dream and all of this would be over, to say I’m heartbroken is an understatement, my heart is aching and so need you here with me.

“I refuse to believe any of this is true until you are back in my arms.”

Brittany Wise’s father and Murwillumbah-based horse trainer Steven said the whole ordeal had “been horrendous” on the family.

“It is something we haven’t come to terms with yet and I don’t know when we will,” Steven Wise said.

“It is something pretty horrendous that happens in the world but you don’t think it will happen to you and when it does you can’t believe it.”

Friend and former jockey Stacey Rawiller had on Thursday shared an emotional compilation of photos and videos, including clips of the fun-loving Caserta singing and dancing at the track.

“I’m going to miss you little bro,” she wrote.

“Thank you for all of the amazing memories and laughs we shared. You touched every single person you met along the way.”

A Victorian who moved to Queensland to further his racing career, Caserta recorded over 150 career wins worth over $5 million in prize money.

Racing Victoria, the Victorian Jockeys Association, the Australian Jockeys Association and Racing Queensland have offered support and counselling to the industry.

Racing Queensland chief executive Brendan Parnell says Mr Caserta was a “well-liked and highly regarded” competitor who had won more than 150 races across Australia.

“First and foremost, our sincerest condolences are extended to the Caserta family and our thoughts are with them at this tragic time,” Mr Parnell said in a statement on Friday.

“The loss of any life is very sad, and at just 26 and with a bright future ahead of him, his loss will be strongly felt by the entire racing community, particularly the Gold Coast fraternity.”

The jockey went missing while swimming with 25-year-old Amy Graham at Surfers Paradise beach about 10pm on Wednesday.

Onlookers saw the couple struggling in the water and were able to help the woman to the shore, but Mr Caserta disappeared.

Helicopters scoured the coastline between Burleigh Heads and South Stradbroke Island 32 hours, and surf lifesavers, Gold Coast council boats, volunteer marine rescuers, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and national park rangers took part in the search.