Darwin racing welcomes back a familiar face this weekend
While most Top End trainers and horses will cool their engines as they recover from the Alice Springs Cup Carnival, South Australian jockey Alice Lindsay will be in the saddle at Fannie Bay on Saturday.
It will be the 29-year-old’s first appearance back in town since a serious fall during the 2021 Darwin Cup Carnival in late July.
She was dislodged from her mount Jomera, who sadly died, in an incident that also claimed fellow jockeys Sonja Wiseman, aboard Supreme Times, and Wayne Davis, riding Somervell.
Lindsay suffered injuries to her back, a broken nose and damage to her hand, as well as lacerations and bruising.
“I was knocked unconscious for about 15 to 20 minutes,” she said.
“I broke my T5 and my T6 – that’s your Thoracic Spine, it’s that area of the spine between your shoulder blades.”
Lindsay avoided surgery, but was fitted with a brace to support her back during the recovery period.
Thankfully, all three riders recovered from their injuries – Wiseman and Davis are kicking goals in the NT – with Lindsay relocating back in SA where she resumed track work in November 2021 before participating in trials in February 2022.
It was during February last year that Lindsay returned to race day action when she donned the silks at Kangaroo Island.
In her Darwin comeback on Saturday, Lindsay has three rides on the five-event program where she will partner All Hard Wood for Chris Pollard (Race 1), Go Bundle for Pollard (Race 2) and Global Wonder for Clarke (Race 5).
Global Wonder is a last start winner and Go Bundle hasn’t been all that far away of late, while All Hard Wood faces stiff opposition, so there’s a chance Lindsay could celebrate her return to the Top End in style.
With limited opportunities, Lindsay, who kick-started her apprenticeship in November 2017, headed to the NT after deciding to spend 12 months in the tropics.
Arriving in the Top End in July 2020, she rode her first winner at Fannie Bay on Darwin Cup Day on the first Monday in August on Art Of More for local trainer Phil Cole.
Originally arriving in town to work for Cole, Lindsay also had the opportunity to ride for Gary Clarke – the 10-time Top End and Country premiership winning trainer.
Before that horrific fall, Lindsay managed to ride four winners for Clarke on the opening day of the 2021 Darwin Cup Carnival with the stable’s No.1 rider Jarrod Todd sidelined because of injury.
Lindsay, who also rode in Alice Springs, had 248 rides during her first stint in the NT for 34 wins and 76 minor placings – significantly there was a period when she was the only apprentice at a meeting in either the Top End or the Red Centre.
The fact that she was able to claim 3kg saw trainers book Lindsay regularly, but she’s now a fully-fledged rider after finally completing her apprenticeship.
Lindsay, who based herself in Murray Bridge and was apprenticed to Heather Lehmann when she returned from injury, has 88 wins next to her name these days.
Growing up in Ashton in the Adelaide Hills, she hasn’t ridden since her one and only ride at Gawler on January 7.
It wasn’t uncommon to see Lindsay ride at Morphettville when she got back into the swing of things, and her last winner was at Strathalbyn on December 28 when she piloted Kayseri to victory for Adelaide trainer Paula Trenwith.
Lindsay, who will be riding mainly for Clarke as a senior rider, hasn’t ridden since that Gawler meeting in January due to surgery on an old ankle injury and another operation in February to fix a breathing problem in her nose.
“It was good to have a break and a refresh,” she said recently.
“I’ve missed it so much, I feel like I haven’t really got a purpose when I’m not race riding.
“I feel a lot better now that I’m back at track work.
“The first gallop back just got me really excited and it’s something I never seem to get sick of.
“It feels like I’ve got purpose again.
“I’ve got a really good opportunity to go back to my old boss, who is one of the leading trainers up there.
“I had some pretty good success for him when I was based up there and I do enjoy riding the dirt tracks.
“It’s a different style of racing that I feel very comfortable with.”