TASMANIA’S leading rider Raquel Clark expects to be back in the saddle by the end of the month following a freak accident that had her placed in an induced coma late last month.
Clark, 22, suffered neck and chest injuries when Lingo, the horse she was to partner in the Sheffield Cup at Spreyton, became fractious behind the barriers and dumped the rider and then trampled on her upper torso.
Clark, who is only in the second year of her apprenticeship, held a commanding lead on the jockeys’ premiership table with 28 wins before the accident on December 27.
“My recovery has been good and while I probably feel well enough to start riding again I have to wait until I get the all clear from the doctors,” Clark said.
“I am really keen to get back riding and hopefully it will be at the end of the month or very early February,” she said.
The Tasmanian Summer Racing Carnival is underway but Clark is hoping to share in the spoils of some of the better races in February such as the Tasmanian Derby and Tasmanian Oaks.
Clark is apprenticed to Hall of Fame trainer Barry Campbell at Spreyton for whom she has ridden most of her winners this season.
Clark burst onto the scene late last season riding a winner at her first ride in a race and she continued to make her presence felt until the end of the season.
This season she has dominated but her absence for the past fur weeks has given others including multiple premiership-winning rider Brendon McCoull an opportunity to catch up.
McCoull has taken his tally to 27 to be only one behind Clark while last season’s premier jockey David Pires has been relatively quiet but still sits on 20 wins and within striking distance of making it back-to-back titles.
Siggy Carr has returned from a two-year stint in South Australia and has immediately made an impact, especially in feature races through her alliance with the state’s leading owners Paul and Elizabeth Geard.
Carr won the Devonport Cup aboard Geegees Goldengirl and while she missed last Wednesday night’s win on brilliant two-year-old filly Gee Gee Double Dee in the Alfa Bowl in Launceston through suspension she is back riding this week.
Carr has accrued 24 wins so she looms as Clark’s main rival in the chase for the jockey’s premiership.