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Leah Kilner/Elissa Meredith/Juana Andreou

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    Posted: 12 Jul 2022 at 1:37pm

Leah Kilner's proud Dad has hailed her inspirational recovery as nothing short of a miracle and revealed what her first words were when she woke up from a coma.

Greg Kilner, a trainer from Grafton in northern NSW, told News Corp of his family's incredible relief as medical staff took his daughter's breathing tubes out and she also started to recognise those around her.

He said Leah's first words when waking from a coma were: "Don't give away the horses."

Greg Kilner explained: "Leah must have thought I was going to give up training because of all this, and she didn't want me to.

Update on injured apprentice jockey Leah Kilner:
Leah's condition is improving in the High Dependency Ward. She was able to stand for the first time today and is also now able to drink on her own & continues to communicate with family

— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) July 12, 2022

"It is unbelievable how she has come through, it's really a miracle, if you had seen her in the first couple of days it was just heartbreaking.

"When she got shifted from intensive care into a (hospital) ward she got a TV and she flicked through the channels and put it straight onto racing.com and sat down and watched the races.

"Now she is recognising everyone and knows what's going on.

"She is aware of everything. It is amazing."

Greg Kilner said medical specialists advised they would need to conduct further cognitive scans over the next few days on his daughter, a highly talented Brisbane apprentice jockey.

But it appeared she was out of the woods, even though she may still face another couple of months in hospital.

"Leah is still very sleepy as she has got a lot of pain in her shoulder where she broke the collarbone and broke a couple of ribs," Greg Kilner said.

"She has got to have a (cognitive) scan when she gets a little bit better but I think they are very happy with her progress.

"She hasn't really asked what happened yet."

Leah Kilner's incredible road towards recovery has been an uplifting one for the Australian racing community, rocked by three shocking jockey falls last week.

The first sign of hope was when Kilner squeezed her mum's hand when she briefly woke up from her induced coma last week.

The good progress continued with Kilner on Sunday moved out of the Intensive Care Unit at Brisbane‘s Princess Alexandra Hospital, a week after her fall at Grafton.

Greg Kilner says there were incredibly worrying times in the days after the fall when the family wasn't even sure whether the talented young apprentice would pull through.

"We didn't know what was going to happen to start with, which way she was going to go," Greg Kilner said.

"But I am now confident she will get through it all, although it will still take a long time.

"She could still be in hospital for a couple of months, you wouldn't know."

It is still far too early to know whether Kilner will ride again one day.

But Greg Kilner says he would be keen to encourage his daughter to look at taking up another profession.

Leah Kilner was destined to be a jockey.

Her surname is well known in the Northern Rivers region of NSW as she is the daughter of jockey-turned-trainer Greg and the niece of racing stalwart Hunter Kilner.



Edited by Gay3 - 02 Sep 2022 at 5:48pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jul 2022 at 3:15pm

Meredith out of bed for the first time

Apprentice jockeys Elissa Meredith and Leah Kilner are continuing to take positive steps as they continue to recover from the horror falls they were involved in earlier this month.

Racing New South Wales provided an update on both riders on Thursday afternoon.

Elissa Meredith fell at Gunnedah and was placed into an induced coma and in the intensive care unit at John Hunter Hospital after that.

“Elissa continues to make steady progress and got out of bed for the first time today,” the Racing New South Wales update said.

“She walked across the room with assistance, making her first steps since the fall on July 4th.”

Meredith’s master Clint Lundholm has started a fundraising page for her, where donations can be made via the link.

Racing New South Wales have said that they will match the total donations raised for that fundraiser.

Queensland based apprentice Leah Kilner fell at Grafton the day prior to Meredith’s fall and had to be airlifted to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, where she was also in an induced coma and received treatment for a possible brain injury.

“Leah continues to make steady progress and is getting lots of sleep,” the latest update from Racing New South Wales said.

“She is leaving her hospital room more often and is enjoying wheelchair rides around the hospital. Doctors are hopeful she can move to the rehabilitation ward when she is well enough next week.”

A fundraising page for Kilner has been setup by The Big Goodbye Syndicate, where donations can also be made through the link, with those donations to be matched by Racing New South Wales.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2022 at 3:07pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2022 at 7:29pm
Leah Kilner's surprise stable visit to kiss her favourite horses
Leah Kilner has made an emotional visit to Rob Heathcote's Eagle Farm stables as she had tears in her eyes and kissed some of her favourite horses.

The injured Queensland apprentice jockey left hospital for the first time since her shocking Grafton race fall a month ago, receiving permission from doctors to be driven to Eagle Farm by her mother Siobhan Jackson.

There, Kilner surprised her racing boss, multiple Group 1 winning trainer Rob Heathcote.

“She had tears in her eyes as she came through the gate, it was so beautiful to see her here,” Heathcote said.

“Leah is in rehab at the Princess Alexandra Hospital but as she said to me this afternoon, ‘the best therapy for me is to visit ‘my’ horses’.

“As soon as she is strong enough, she wants to come to the races but that may be some time away just yet.

“It has only been one month since the fall so she has made a wonderful recovery in such a short time but there is still a long way to go.”

Heathcote says Kilner told him: “I feel like I am still in a dream and I have not woken up fully from it just yet.”

Among the horses Kilner patted and kissed were Heathcote’s Group 1 winner Startantes along with Dusty Tycoon and Danezel.

The latest uplifting news came after Kilner last week took to social media to post pictures of her cuddling her much-loved Chihuahua dog Chanel.

Kilner’s incredible road towards recovery has been an uplifting one for the Australian racing community.

Grave fears were held after her Grafton fall on July 3 but her recovery has been hailed as nothing short of a miracle, even though she still faces a long road ahead.

Positive news for injured apprentice Elissa Meredith

Racing NSW has delivered welcome news to the racing community and those closely following the improving condition of apprentice Elissa Meredith.

The young jockey was badly injured when she fell at Gunnedah early in July but her condition continues to improve and today Racing NSW reported she was now walking more and starting to eat on her own.

Doctors are hopeful that her feeding tube will be removed in the next few days.

Just a few days ago Leah Kilner, who fell just 24 hours before Meredith, posted uplifting photos of herself with her dog out in a wheelchair as she continues her battle.



Edited by Gay3 - 02 Aug 2022 at 7:37pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote acacia alba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2022 at 2:23pm
any news on the Victorian girl  ??
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote TJMitchell Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2022 at 2:29pm
I haven't seen anything for like a week now
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote TJMitchell Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Aug 2022 at 1:16pm
Latest on Juana.

"She still remains in the Royal Melbourne in ICU in an induced coma. We just pray everyday we can get some positive news."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Aug 2022 at 12:33pm

‘Could have been in a grave': Jockey's incredible recovery after horror fall

A happy and triumphant Leah Kilner has been discharged from hospital, 57 days since the devastating race fall which nearly claimed the young jockey's life.

While acknowledging she still has a long way ago in her medical rehabilitation, it was an incredible moment when the apprentice jockey walked out of Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital on Monday.

Kilner posted about the moment on Facebook and thanked all those who have supported her, including the medical staff who saved her life in the first instance as well as hospital nurses and doctors.

“Wow, who knew I’d be legitimately walking out of here and alive!” Kilner wrote.

“I bet if you asked those around me in the first couple of days, it may have been a grave.

“July 3rd turned my life upside down … I’m just so grateful and feel lucky that I’m here to tell the crazy story and thankful for all the people that have been here to support me and all the people that have sent a message, a prayer, anything at all, it’s all helped.

“And we can’t forget the paramedics first on the scene and the Westpac Helicopter and all the barrier and track staff.

“Literally all played a part in saving my life.

“There’s still a very long way to go and a lot more therapy, which luckily I have the home team come to me now and do it from home.

“I may talk and look better then what I actually am, there’s a hell of a long way to go, but I’m ready to take it on and continue to get as better as I can.”

On August 10, Kilner granted News Corp the first interview since her Grafton race fall and it was on the same day she was able to rise up from her wheelchair and walk for the first time outside a hospital setting.

Kilner has a brain injury, hadn’t been able to open her left eye and has tingling sensations down her left side but nurses have dubbed her “miracle girl” during her amazing recovery.

She has no spinal injuries but told News Corp on Tuesday that she remains in a wheelchair “half and half”: “It’s mainly there if I get tired. I want to keep walking but shopping centres, for example, are too much to get around.”

Kilner is a source of inspiration to the racing community but she has also been inspired by the work of medics to save her life and get her to the point where she could be discharged from hospital.

“Apart from the severe head and brain trauma I had a collar bone snapped in three, broken ribs, a small fracture in the ankle, my whole left side extremely weak and still tingly, even a closed left eye, which has me left with only 25 per cent vision and we won’t forget the post traumatic amnesia,” Kilner said.

“However I’ve only had to look around and think and remember others to realise that I’ve actually been extremely lucky throughout all of this.

‘To see people have called me strong, brave, an inspiration and even a miracle is really unbelievable, I would have never called myself those things.

“Thank you to all the nurses and doctors who have looked after me, especially when I was pulling tubes out of everywhere five times a day, and my favourite nurse Carly who went above and beyond for me.

“And just a massive thank you to everyone for their well wishes and support.

“But the biggest thank you goes to my family and close friends, they know who they are.”

Kilner had been able to leave hospital and return from for brief periods at various points in the last few weeks, but Monday marked the end of her hospital stay.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Aug 2022 at 12:37pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Sep 2022 at 5:49pm

Inglis hosts auction for Meredith

The Australian racing industry is rallying behind injured jockey Elissa Meredith, who will be the beneficiary of eight outstanding items to be auctioned in the next Inglis Digital September Online Sale.

Organised by trainer Louise Munce and the NSW Trainers' Association, the charity items are a mix of racing and sporting memorabilia, as well as exclusive hospitality packages on feature race days, all donated by some of the sport's biggest names and racing clubs.

Inglis Digital will host the sale as part of the September (Early) online auction, with all proceeds from the sale being presented to Meredith.

Meredith is currently in a rehabilitation facility in Sydney, having spent most of the past eight weeks in John Hunter Hospital following a race fall at Gunnedah in early July.

She is recovering from a pair of brain contusions suffered in the fall.

The eight items for sale are:

1. Framed silks worn by champion jockey James McDonald when winning the recent G1 Winx Stakes on Anamoe. The silks are signed by McDonald and trainer James Cummings;

2. TAB Epsom Raceday Experience - 4 x TAB Suite tickets including full hospitality package, watch a race in the broadcast box with race caller Darren Flindell, meet the Sky Thoroughbred Central on-air team and head to the barriers to watch the horses jump for a race;

3. Champagne tour of the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable before heading to Randwick for a race day and a table for six in the Grandview Restaurant with full hospitality package;

4. World's Best Sprinter Nature Strip's silks, signed by trainer Chris Waller and jockey James McDonald, showcasing his wins in the G1 King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot in June and the 2021 TAB Everest at Randwick;

5. One of a kind 'The Waugh Brothers' framed and signed memorabilia piece depicting legends of Australian cricket Steve and Mark Waugh;

6. Hawkesbury Race Club Premium Race Sponsorship - 10 guests wined and dined, race naming rights and all associated branding opportunities across media platforms;

7. Jockey breeches signed and framed by members of the Sydney jockeys' room; and

8. William Inglis Hotel package including two nights' accommodation in a Superior Suite plus breakfast daily for two guests, a $150 voucher at Newmarket Room Restaurant and an Inglis Day Spa voucher.

The Elissa Meredith element of the Inglis Digital September (Early) Online Sale will be lots 1-8 in what is shaping as another significant catalogue.

Already confirmed for the auction is G3-winning Snitzel mare Vulpine and Dean Binaisse's G3-winning mare Felicia, who is entered in Saturday's Listed Chautauqua Stakes at The Valley.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote acacia alba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Sep 2022 at 1:20pm
Anyone see Gary Kliese,s interview with Leah at Lismore races yesterday ?   I am not clever enough to find it but maybe PT will.  She is going so well.
Any updates on the other 2 girls?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Sep 2022 at 1:23pm
I will have a look later but this is from Lismore yesterday.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Sep 2022 at 1:33pm
Here it is on twitter. Can download it but this site doesn't directly upload.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Nov 2022 at 2:57pm

Kilner: I'd love to ride again

Talented Queensland jockey Leah Kilner says she still has ambitions to ride again as she continues her remarkable recovery from a sickening fall earlier this year.

Kilner broke multiple bones, suffered a significant brain injury and was left with limited vision in one eye following a fall at Grafton in July this year.

But Kilner has made steady progress since and in October sat back on a horse for a ride in the Queensland hinterland. 

She's hoping to one day be back in the saddle in a more competitive environment.

"Can I see myself riding again? I hope my mum and dad aren't listening, but yes," Kilner said.

"I'd love nothing more than being able to get out on the racecourse.

"I know that I've got to wait two years before they'll even look at me medically. But, do I want to? Absolutely."

Boss Rob Heathcote said Kilner's positivity during her recovery has been inspiring.

"Her recovery ... it's exemplified by this positiveness," he said.

"This attitude that 'I'm going to get better and I'm fine'.

"I mean, yeah, I've seen Leah break down a couple of times in moments of sadness. There's that attitude that I know she'll be back.

"They're not going to keep her down."

Video copy/paste https://www.racing.com/news/2022-11-15/news-jockeys-kilner-id-love-to-race-ride-again


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 May 2023 at 6:13pm

THE SUNDAY STORY – LEAH KILNER, TEN MONTHS ON ...

By Graham Potter | Sunday, May 21, 2023

Leah Kilner celebrated a birthday on Friday. Only twenty-five years young … but it was a birthday Kilner thought she might never see yet, thankfully, here she is, ten-and-a-half months after she suffered critical injuries in a race-fall at Grafton back on July 3, 2022, able to celebrate that particular, special date on the calendar … but, then again, in truth, every day is special if you have fought back from a place where your life was in the balance, and so precariously placed, as it was in Kilner’s case. Here, Kilner, in an extermely open and frank interview, and trainer Robert Heathcote, to whom Kilner was attached as an apprentice at the time of her accident and whose stable she now assists with light, administrative duties take up the story.
______________________________________________________________________

“We all know it looked pretty grim there for a while and that she (Leah) might be in serious trouble,” said Heathcote.

“She still has a long way to go … doctor’s appointments, seeing specialists, surgeries, more rehab. People just won’t be able to comprehend all that she is still going through.

“She is doing an amazing job at my stable. She has just embraced it … this new stable manager/stable assistant role, for want of a better description. She is a very real part of the stable family.

“I’m really delighted for Leah. Like I said, she still has a long road ahead, but she has what I call that magic word … passion. Passion for horses. Passion for racing … and it is so good that she could come back and participate in something that she loves, albeit with the necessary constraints that need to be adhered to in terms of her medical situation.

‘She has been given very clear guidelines on what she can do and what she can’t do, and we make certain she follows that. It’s been a very heartwarming experience for me to work with Leah and her family and to be able to help provide Leah with something that gives her a sense of purpose in life.

“If nothing else, for her to be around horses again is good therapy. She is a perfect person for a role in the stable. She is still finding her way around and can only transition into the role as her circumstances allow, but she couldn’t be more enthusiastic.

“She loves what she is doing, and the staff just love having her here. There is a warm glow when she is around. It is a good mix for everybody.”
_____________________________________________________________________

“It has just been amazing. I just can’t thank Rob and Mel and the whole team enough for the opportunity they have given me,” said Kilner.

“It’s got me back out into the world, and it has honestly been the best thing for me since I got out of hospital. One, it has allowed me to socialize with people and, two, my brain has actually been stimulated again … but I think the biggest win is that, because of that, I am now actually sleeping again.

“I wasn’t sleeping before. I literally couldn’t get to sleep until something like one o’clock in the morning and I would be awake at 3am. I was getting that little sleep.
“Now, I’m sleeping right through … getting my eight hours sleep again. That’s been my biggest win. I just love it.”

While it is great for Kilner to be able to be able to identify and enjoy the positive progress she is making, she was equally as candid about the battle that she still faces within herself on an on-going basis, a full ten months after the race-fall that changed her life forever.

“I don’t ever expect people to get what I’m going through,” said Kilner. “I hardly get it myself.”

“I do look a lot better than I really am sometimes … so people don’t see the whole picture. Physically I am going ok, but mentally it is still a very hard struggle.

“I think of things in different ways. I’ve experienced feelings I’ve never experienced before … feelings I don’t ever want to experience. Some of them are deep and dark and are horrible places to go … whereas, when I am at ‘work’ I have the best support around me. Rob and Mel, especially, have been just so amazing to me.

“Rob says I am part of the stable family and that is exactly how they all make me feel.”
____________________________________________________________________

Kilner was already part of that family prior to her accident, being attached to the Heathcote stable as an apprentice jockey, but the fact they were there for her, to embrace her emotionally and offer her, not only a way forward but, importantly, a means to stay in the industry which had been her life from a very early age, was not a given.

That the Heathcote stable welcomed Kilner with open arms back to stable life in whatever capacity she wanted at a pace carefully monitored so that she was not pushed along, but rather abided by every specified work-cover direction, stands as a real credit to Rob Heathcote and his team, but Kilner is one hundred percent right when she says she thanks the stable ‘for the opportunity.’

That’s what it was … an opportunity … and it was up to Kilner whether she would take advantage of it or not. It was always going to be a slow beginning.

“It was a difficult adjustment,” explained Kilner. “The first time I was allowed out of hospital … I was allowed out for an afternoon drive with mum … I thought it was a dream. I didn’t think it was real.

“I can only remember little snippets … but all I know is I just wanted to go to the stables to see my ponies. I know it was reported somewhere that when I first woke up, I told my dad not to give away the horses.

“Honestly, I personally don’t know if that was true or not. Everybody tells me, ‘yes’ it was, but I have no memory of that time. I have nothing.

“To me, I woke up on August 1 (a month after the fall), but obviously I was awake in patches before that. When I woke up on August 1, I quite literally thought I was in a dream … and it was horrific.

“I was doing things to myself to try and wake myself up and it wasn’t until I went to the races that I came out of that dream.

“I remember sitting there looking at the race-book and I looked up and I said to my friend, this is real, isn’t it? I wasn’t in a car accident. I was in a race fall!”
_______________________________________________________________________

Altogether, Kilner was in hospital for two months following her fall … and for most of that time it would be fair to say it would have been easier for her to fold rather than to push forward, but her character trait of true toughness refused to allow the first option into the game.

So, push forward she did.

“If you want to call it toughness, I guess you have got to credit my mum and dad for that,” suggested Kilner.

“I was brought up to be strong. I was brought up in the racing game. You had to go with the flow. You had to be tough and don’t take gelati from anyone. You’ve got to stand your ground.

“Mum and dad have always taught me that. I never thought about applying it in this type of critical situation, but I do believe I did do exactly that and that helped me a lot.

“I’m also a Taurus … so I’m pretty stubborn and I think that helped me as well.

“If I didn’t have those qualities about me, I think it is fair to say I wouldn’t be here … but, it does take a lot of effort and that effort does take it out of you.

“If you had been in my shoes, you would realize it has taken a lot … a bloody lot … to get this far.”
_____________________________________________________________________

In terms of the help she received getting this far, Kilner also wanted to make a particular point with reference to the Queensland Rogues ownership group.

“I am the ambassador for the Queensland Rogues,” said Kilner, “and I have so much to thank them for..

“It’s fantastic. It gets me at the races. It gets me involved. I do little pre-race previews for them and give them my thoughts on the races. I love doing that. It’s such a happy environment. The Rogues have done so much for me, so I feel the least I can do is give something back to them.

“We’ve got The Big Goodbye with Rob. Obviously, I won so many races on him and had such an affinity with that horse.

“You know what … when I left the hospital I never cried. I actually started thinking to myself, maybe I don’t cry anymore. What’s wrong?

“When I got out of the hospital, The Big Goodbye was in the paddock having a spell and then, one day, a couple of weeks later, I went around to the stables and he had come back in from a spell that day. It was the first time I’d seen him since my accident … and I balled my eyes out.

“And when I cried, everybody thought there was something wrong with me. They came running and said, ‘what’s wrong, what’s wrong’ … and I said ‘nothing.’ He was the only horse to make me so emotional.”
___________________________________________________________________

“But, hey, I didn’t think I’d see twenty-five for a while there, and look at me now, I’m halfway to fifty,” joked Kilner.

And that’s a nice, neat touch of optimism with which to conclude Kilner’s story at this stage.

While it is true that Kilner’s fightback … one that has been a constant battle until now … is not over yet, that should not in any way detract from the just how far she has come since that terrible day last July when she was airlifted from the track in a grave condition.

Her progress ... hard-earned every step along the way ... has been nothing short of remarkable.

It is as the words of the song, in part, says, ‘the road is long, with many a winding turn that leads us to who knows where, who knows where. But I'm strong … we’ll get there!

As will you Leah.

The racing world is very proud of the example you are setting.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jul 2023 at 5:36pm

‘Grafton girl' Leah Kilner plays role in emotional Ramornie win

"Grafton girl" Leah Kilner almost lost her life a year ago at her home track but returned on Wednesday to be part of the one of the most emotional of Listed Ramornie Handicap (1200m) wins as The Big Goodbye snared the $200,000 feature.

Kilner had to be put in a coma following a horrific fall at Grafton in the first week of July last year, suffering severe brain and head injuries as well as several fractures around her body.

The determined jockey has since made a miracle recovery and has returned to the racing industry to work as an assistant racing manager for The Big Goodbye‘s trainer Rob Heathcote.

Kilner had rode The Big Goodbye to a Saturday win at Ipswich just 13 months ago but found herself in hospital fighting for her life just a fortnight later.

The Big Goodbye overhauls a very brave Ranges in the 2023 Ramornie!

Martin Harley with a peach for the Robert Heathcote yard! pic.twitter.com/yDhncuFL4S

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) July 12, 2023

"I am a Grafton girl and always wanted to win a Ramornie Handicap," Kilner said.

"I thought I would be the one on this horse but that didn't happen.

"But I am here with him now and that's the main thing."

The Big Goodbye had to burn some gas early but jockey Martin Harley found himself outside the leader, running alongside last year's winner Ranges.

The leading duo settled down for the fight in the straight before The Big Goodbye ($15) shook off the Peter and Paul Snowden galloper and held off the late surging Far Too Easy ($5.50) to win.

"He is the bravest horse I've ever ridden. He's just the best," Kilner said.

"When he hit the front I thought geez they are going to have to be good to get past him because when they chase him, they just can't get past him.

"It has been a long prep but Rob is a fantastic trainer, he knows what he is doing."

Harley himself completed his remarkable comeback from a career threatening neck break to win the feature.

A scary fall at Doomben in January left Harley with fractures to his C0, C1 and C2 vertebrae and needing a halo to keep his head and neck stable.

The Group 1-winning hoop was fortunate to avoid damage to his spinal cord but spent close to five months on the sidelines before returning to the saddle last month.

He came to Grafton for one ride and made the most of it to chalk up his first feature winner since his comeback into the saddle.

Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
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