Australian racehorse rescued after swimming into ocean

BRISBANE, Australia, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- An Australian racehorse was rescued from deep waters after running into the ocean during a training session on Thursday.

The five-year-old thoroughbred named Rebel Rover was guided back to land around 9 a.m. by a rescue team including Brisbane water police as seen in photos shared by Volunteer Marine Rescue Brisbane.

"The crew of Energex Sandgate 1 didn't horse around this morning when they helped the Brisbane Water Police bring this fella back to Sandgate Beach," they wrote on Facebook.

The rescue operation took about 90 minutes after police managed to lasso Rebel Rover, allowing jockey Jackson Morris to ride the horse back to shore.

"Luckily, we were able to maneuver our boat close to him and get a lasso around the top of his head which meant we could pull him nice and close to our boat and put a rope on its bridle," Volunteer Marine Rescue Brisbane spokesman Glen Philip said.

According to Rebel Rover's trainer Brad Smith the veterinarian said the horse was recovering remarkably well considering the amount of stress caused by the swim.

"Any other horse, 20 minutes would probably see them out, but this horse - he must have a pretty amazing lung capacity," he said.