She escaped serious injury following a fall at Fannie Bay, but leading NT apprentice Jade Hampson will miss the Darwin Cup Carnival.
Hampson was riding Glacier Grey in the opening race last Saturday for Alice Springs trainer Paul Gardner when her mount buckled at the 650m when sitting outside eventual winner Magnolia Rose in second place.
The teenager became unbalanced and was dislodged, with the four-year-old gelding sustaining fractures to the near fore leg and subsequently being euthanised.
After regaining her feet, the 19-year-old was treated by ambulance officers and was stood down from riding for the rest of the day.
She was then taken to Darwin Royal Hospital for observation and was discharged later that day.
For Hampson, the leading jockey during the recent Alice Springs Cup Carnival, it was her third fall after debuting in the saddle at Fannie Bay in April last year.
READ: Hampson wins at Darwin in first race ride
The first time, she suffered a broken ankle on ANZAC Day – her second race meeting – and was sidelined for six weeks, before avoiding injury when dislodged last July.
“I felt fine on Saturday after the fall,” Hampson said on Wednesday.
“Woke up Sunday morning and I was in extreme pain, so I got a friend to take me back to hospital and got the scans and I wasn’t as good as good as I thought I was.
“I had really bad pain from my back, but it was coming up to my neck – no pain anywhere else.
“I still haven’t had any headaches or anything, so I was lucky I didn’t get concussed.
“It took me three days to get the MRI.
“They did some X-rays and CTs on me to start with on Sunday.
“On the second day they did another CT and there was no fractures or anything showing up.
“Then I got the MRI on the third day and it showed five fractures in my spine.”
She suffered the fractures in an area from the C7 (cervical vertebrae) to the T4 (thoracic vertebrae).
It was at that point that Hampson realised that the Darwin Cup Carnival, which starts this weekend, was out of the question.
“It wasn’t great news, but I knew after being in there for three days and still being on heavy pain-killers that there was something wrong,” she said.
“I didn’t think it was bone after the first day when I had the CTs done because I thought it would show up on that, so I was starting to think it was nerve or muscle – but it was a little bit worse.
“I’ve got to forget about Carnival now and look after myself.
“It’s hard, I haven’t fully accepted it, but I’m trying.
“Obviously bad timing, but I realise that I could’ve come out of it a lot worse.
“I’ve got to see a specialist and then I’ll go from there.
“I’d say there will be a fair bit of physio involved, but at this stage I’ll spend four weeks doing absolutely nothing and then go back for some more scans after that.
“If I’ve recovered from that it will be light duties, so I’ll be out for a while.”
Hampson, who also suffered bruising, recalls the fall and had her concerns considering Glacier Grey was at the head of the field.
“Yeah, I was extremely lucky that it was a small field, and that the other runners were able to get around me and didn’t trample me,” she added.
“There’s not a whole lot you can do.
“It happened so quick – obviously you try and roll a bit.
“When you’re going that quick, you don’t have time to think about what you’re going to do.
“A few jockeys have said that they think their horse actually jumped over me.
“I haven’t had a look at the replay, I don’t really want to.
“The incident was no ones fault and no one could predict it would happen.
“This is the kind of thing that can happen in racing.
“I was just the unfortunate one and I’m sad for the Gardner family, who lost their horse as well.
“It’s just so unfortunate, I’m actually fortunate that I’ve come out if it so well.
“I’m still enthusiastic about riding, but to have three falls is not a good strike rate – it’s disappointing.
“Everyone in the racing community has been supportive – they’ve been great and helpful.
“You do have your good times, but you also have your bad times.”
Hampson, who won the Alice Springs Cup (2000m) on the Dick Leech-trained Write Your Name on April 30, has been in good form of late and has ridden 28 winners for the 2022/23 season.
Having also tasted success in WA, SA and Victoria in her short career, Hampson has 51 career wins and sits equal sixth in the Top End jockeys’ premiership (12) and fifth in the Alice Springs premiership (16).
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