A rising horse racing star is fighting for her life after falling during a race on Sunday afternoon.
Leah Kilner, 24, was thrown from her filly, Stella Turn, as the field galloped along the home straight in the third race of the day in Grafton, northeastern New South Wales.
Terrifying footage shows the horse stumble about 75m from the finish line, catapulting Kilner onto the track before being trampled.
Kilner is now in a coma with serious spinal and head injuries after undergoing surgery to ‘release the pressure on her brain’ at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital.
rising horse racing star Leah Kilner, 24 (pictured), is fighting for her life after falling during a race on Sunday afternoon
Kilner (pictured) was thrown from her filly, Stella Turn, as the field galloped along the home straight in the third race of the day in Grafton, northeastern NSW
Ambulance officers ran on to the track to help the fallen rider, but an hour passed before she was taken by Westpac Rescue Helicopter to the hospital.
‘Because there was such a long delay of more than an hour before Leah was airlifted from the course, there was a great wave of concern for her from the other jockeys,’ Clarence River Jockey Club chief executive Michael Beattie said.
Kilner’s family, including her father Greg, who is a horse trainer, were both at the track and saw the horrific incident unfold.
Her trainer Rob Heathcote said he had been in touch with Racing NSW officials after the fall and said she was going in and out of consciousness.
Terrifying footage shows the horse stumble about 75m from the finish line, catapulting Kilner (pictured) onto the track before being trampled
Kilner is now in a coma with serious spinal and head injuries after undergoing surgery to ‘release the pressure on her brain’
Ambulance officers ran on to the track to help the fallen rider, but an hour passed before she was taken by Westpac Rescue Helicopter (pictured) to the hospital
She remains in Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital but an update on her condition is not expected until Monday
‘At the end of the day, we are all wishing her the very best, we are all thinking of her,’ he told the Courier Mail.
Mr Heathcote said it was a very ‘grave situation’ for the ‘very sick young girl’.
‘Leah is the most beautiful young lady I have met in racing so we need to pray for her recovery.’
A PA Hospital spokeswoman confirmed Kilner was in a critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit but added an update on her health is not expected until Monday morning.
Kilner’s family is understood to be at her bedside in the hospital.
Stella Turn was euthanised after the accident, while the remaining six races of the meet were postponed (Kilner pictured)
Kilner’s family, including her father Greg, who is a horse trainer, were both at the track and saw the horrific incident unfold (Leah Kilner pictured)
Stella Turn was euthanised after the accident, while the remaining six races of the meet were postponed.
‘It was clear (the jockeys) were in a mindset not to ride so I had a discussion with stewards and felt in it was everyone’s best interests to postpone the rest of the meeting,’ Mr Beattie said.
He suspects the cause of the crash was that the horse simply overbalanced and couldn’t get its hoof back in a ‘good spot’.
Kilner is regarded as one of the best up-and-coming jockeys in the country, riding more than 200 winner during her short career.
She narrowly missed out on the all-time record of 54 victories in the 2021-22 racing season after crossing the line in first place 46 times.
Her trainer Rob Heathcote said it was a very ‘grave situation’ for the ‘very sick young girl’
Kilner (pictured) is regarded as one of the best up-and-coming jockeys in the country, riding more than 200 winner during her short career
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