Thoroughbred trainer says Younghoe Koo's whiffed field goal kick saved his life
· Yahoo Sports
Mark Toothaker, a thoroughbred trainer with Spendthrift Farms, is going to attending the Kentucky Derby this weekend to cheer on Spendthrift’s Further Ado. That might not have been happening if it wasn’t for an unusual coincidence — that started with a missed field goal.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Toothaker said that he was watching the New York Giants on Monday Night Football in December when a whiffed kick from Younghoe Koo made him laugh so hard that he got a seizure.
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The defining moment came in the second quarter of the loss to the New England Patriots, as Koo attempted a 47-yard field goal. Instead, Koo tripped as he went for the kick and missed the ball completely, leading the Giants to turn the ball over on downs.
The miss, Toothaker said, prompted him to laugh incredibly hard, to the point of having a seizure, which he described as like being “electrocuted.” His wife Malory, a nurse at a rehabilitation hospital with experience with brain injuries, initially thought her husband was joking but called 911 to transport him to a hospital.
A CT scan later revealed a “tennis-ball-sized” brain tumor in Toothaker’s brain. At University of Kentucky’s hospital, the tumor, which turned out to be benign, was removed. Toothaker was released by the end of the week without suffering any long-term damage — all of which he credits to Koo.
“(The) kicker saved my life because it could’ve happened any other time,” Toothaker told the AP. “I wholeheartedly believe I was in the right spot at the right time, and he was the trigger for that happening. It was a miracle.”
Koo was released by the Giants two weeks after the failed kick. Toothaker told the AP that he would love for Koo to be his guest at the Kentucky Derby; however, the 31-year-old kicker doesn’t seem open to the idea, and did not respond to the AP when asked to comment on the story.
Toothaker, per Spendthrift Farms’ website, is a stallion sales manager for the breeding farm. Further Ado, Spendthrift’s horse, currently has the second-best odds at the Kentucky Derby at 6-1, and will race in the No. 18 position at Churchill Downs.