A young jockey killed when she was thrown from her horse during an early morning ride had shared concerns about the risk of training in the dark, a court has heard.
Mikaela Claridge, 22, died when the horse she was riding, Dharma, became spooked during an early morning ride at the Cranbourne racecourse on August 30, 2019.
The apprentice jockey had set out to ride a poorly-lit bush track with her colleague and friend Jaimee Hayes when their horses stopped suddenly around 4.45am.
Both women were thrown out of their saddles, but when Ms Heyes got up, she noticed Ms Claridge was unresponsive.
Ms Claridge had suffered critical head injuries and died at the scene.
Her family and friends told a Melbourne court on Friday she was loving her life in the months before the incident, feeling like she was beginning to move up in her chosen profession.
Her employer Saloon Park Pty Ltd, the registered name of Ken Keys Racing, was found guilty of failing to provide a safe working environment at the time of her death.
The company, a thoroughbred horse trainer operating out of the Cranbourne Training Complex, returned to the County Court of Victoria for a hearing after a jury reached the verdict on March 20.
Prosecutor Colin Mandy S.C. told the court the central part of the case was the risk put on riders through the use of the sand trails track.
“It’s quite likely the sand trails were a blind spot for safety, the blinkers were on,” he said.
“There appears to be very few tracks like this in Australia. An employer should understand the vulnerability of an apprentice … they want to keep their job and are more likely to put up with unsafe demands.”
Ms Claridge’s dad, Bernie, said she had developed a passion for horses at the age of three and knew the dangers of her occupation.
“Like everything Mik did, she gave everything 100 per cent and would train hard every day to achieve her goal,” he said.
“I am beyond proud of what she achieved in her 22 years.”
In a victim impact statement he told the court his daughter had rung him a week earlier with concerns about riding in the dark.
“The guilt about not making that call to her trainer with her concerns will haunt me for the rest of my life,” he said.
Her mum Colleen Claridge said she had experienced constant and never-ending grief in the years since her daughter’s death.
“I‘m comforted that after removing to Cranbourne she was loving her life in what turned out to be the final months,” she said.
“We all knew racing was dangerous and Mik knew that too, it’s hard to think her death was avoidable.
“No words can begin to explain the empty hole.”
Chelsea Hall, a fellow apprentice jockey who was in a relationship with Ms Claridge at the time, said they both felt “scared or weak” to say no when asked to do a job.
Saloon Park Pty Ltd‘s lawyer, Robert Taylor, told the court his client, and it’s owner Ken Keys, had deep sense of regret for the loss of life and impact on Ms Claridge’s family.
“Saloon Park has, for many years, had a deep involvement in the thoroughbred racing community,” He said.
“It has, but for this, an unblemished record.”
He told the court it had conducted a comprehensive review and updated its policies since the death, and now only carries out training activities in “appropriately illuminated” parts.
“Cranbourne Training Complex had direct control and management, my client was using an approved training facility,” Mr Taylor said.
He said his client was unaware young jockeys felt genuine concern about raising safety issues.
Judge Peter Rozen will sentence Saloon Park at a later date.
“Its important for me to say now I will impose a fine in this case, that much is clear,” he said.
“The figure of that fine should not be understood as an assessment of the worth of the life of Mikaela Claridge, that’s not the task the court has here… her life was, of course, priceless.”
Cranbourne Turf Club, which operates the facility, was convicted and fined $250,000 in February after pleading guilty to a breach of health and safety laws.