Popular apprentice jockey Leah Kilner was operated on Sunday night at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane to release pressure on the brain after a shocking fall at Grafton on Sunday.
Her Brisbane-based boss Rob Heathcote updated a racing community, waiting anxiously for any news after the shocking events of the day.
Heathcote tweeted: “She is a very sick young girl and she is in a coma since the fall.
“She is currently, as at 6pm Sunday having surgery to release the pressure on her brain.
“It is a very grave situation and we should all pray for her to come through this.
“Leah is the most beautiful young lady I have met in racing so we need to pray for her recovery.
“I just wanted you all to know what’s happening as you love her as much as we do.”
As of Monday morning, Kilner remains in an induced coma.
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Kilner came off first starter Stella’s Turn about 75m from the winning post, after the horse fell without being interfered with.
Her father Greg is also a local Grafton trainer and was on track when the incident occured.
Clarence River Jockey Club chief executive Michael Beattie confirmed she was unconscious when transported from the course.
As a mark of respect for the popular apprentice, the remaining six races on the program were postponed with the expectation they will be rescheduled for later this week.
“Leah was unconscious but she was breathing unassisted the whole time and her blood pressure was good,” Beattie said at the time.
“But until she gets examined … we won’t know what injuries she has suffered in the fall.”
Beattie described Kilner as an “extremely popular person” among the jockey ranks which ultimately convinced him to cancel the remainder of the Grafton meeting.
“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,” Beattie said.
“It was clear they 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”
In February, Kilner suffered a fractured and displaced rib after a fall at the Doomben trials.
She was out of the saddle for two weeks.
Kilner is one of the most outstanding apprentice riders in the region.
She has out-ridden her country claim and has ridden more than 200 winners during her career in the saddle.
She won 46 races during 2021-22 and is closing on her best-ever season of 54 winners in 2018-19.
This article was originally published at Punters and was republished with permission.