PRAYERS FOR POMFRETT

By Graham Potter | Thursday, January 4, 2024

Nobody involved in racing needs any reminders of the dangers involved in the sport or the courage inherent in every jockey’s mindset as they go about their everyday business ... but we get them anyway.

As such, while it does not limit the distress of the moment, a serious incident leading to concerns of a major injury does come with some form of reluctant acceptance with everybody understanding the risks involved ... but, make no mistake, the distress is there and very real, mostly clothed in silence and still with a degree of shock for most of the racing fraternity not directly involved in the incident ... but involved on a caring level ... while, for those on the receiving end of the trauma, it is a different matter altogether, sometimes as extreme as a matter of life or death.

For Emily Pomfrett, the incident she was involved in at Gatton on Thursday led to as critcal an on -track situation as you could imagine.

At one stage there were three ambulances at the track as well as the helicopter which had been called to transfer Pomfrett to hospital ... but that only took place after the paramedics had worked on her for a long period of time at the scene of the incident, with her transfer to the helicopter also taking a significant length of time ... that timeframe indicating both the absolute level of care that was being undertaken while also emphasising the seriousness of the matter at hand.

Whether at Gatton or not ... the racing fraternity, as it does, was quick to post their prayers and good wishes for a positive outcome for Pomfrett in an outpouring of support.

From there, we all just had to wait for further news on Pomfrett's condition.

*The meeting was duly abandoned at the halfway point following Pomfrett’s very nasty incident.
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HRO UPDATE:

Thankfully, as per updates supplied by Trevor Bartlett, Emily Pomfrett's father, Pomfrett is on the road to recovery. It will be a tough stretch after suffering a small bleed to the brain, but the fact that Pomfrett was cleared of any breaks and spinal damage and that her doctors have indicated she will fully recover from her brain injury in time is absolutely fantastic news, particularly given the severity of the trauma Pomfrett has experienced. It is quite literally a case of taking small steps from here on in as Pomfrett’s speech and memory and her all around well-being returns to normal at its own pace, which will hopefully quicken as her rehabilitation moves forward. Pomfrett is tough, resolute and reported to be in good spirits as she tackles the challenge facing her and she will know that she has the entire racing fraternity willing her on and supporting her each step of the way.

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