Cult hero Thomas Doyle loses racing’s most famous mullet in Darwin fall: ‘Used a pair of horse clippers’

Thomas Doyle no longer has his flowing flame-coloured locks after paramedics took to them with scissors following a fall in the Top End recently.

Larrikin jockey Thomas Doyle and his famous mullet. Picture: Rob Burnett Photography

Australian racing’s most recognisable mullet is no longer.

Larrikin jockey Thomas Doyle’s sickening Darwin fall last month will not only keep him on the sidelines until the end of the year, but robbed him of his famous locks after paramedics were forced to chop them off to get him onto the stretcher.

It comes as Doyle will have more scans on his head later this month in Darwin, where he is currently stranded with doctors ordering him not to fly or drive.

Doyle suffered severe concussion and bleeding on the brain after he came off Aplomado on July 13, and says specialists have since located another bleed as he battles concussion symptoms.

Larrikin jockey Thomas Doyle admits he is lucky to be around to tell the story of his sickening fall at Darwin earlier this month — even if he can’t remember any of it. 👇https://t.co/TNn14tdONn

— Racenet (@RacenetTweets) July 29, 2024

• ‘Can't remember a thing': Larrikin jockey ‘lucky to be around' after fall

He said the lost mullet was the least of his worries as he looked to get himself fighting fit.

“They (paramedics) hacked it with a pair of scissors, I went from being a guy with long hair to looking like a complete grub because it got hacked,” he laughed.

“I got annoyed looking at it, so I took a pair of scissors to it myself, then after that I got one of the guys up here with a pair of horse clippers and got a short back and sides.

“Part of it was something to do with the neck brace and the stretcher and then another part was to do with the head scans, they needed some of the hair gone.

“It’s not something I’m too worried about at the moment.”

The famous mullet sported by larrikin jockey Thomas Doyle is` no longer. Picture: Rob Burnett Photography

• Cult hero jockey unplugged: The story behind racing's best mullet

Doyle said he was keen to eventually get back to Victoria to continue his rehab, with doctors originally ruling him out for at least three months on the back of the fall.

While the jockey didn’t want to kick stones over the incident, he acknowledged the seriousness of the predicament he was in.

“The last CT scan found another bleed on the brain that they missed the first time,” he said.

“I have been booked in for a few more scans of the neck and brain.

“I can’t drive at the moment and I’m not allowed to fly until I get these scans done, so I’m not going anywhere.

“They are looking at one of the head trauma joints in Melbourne to help with the rehab, but everything depends on the scans.

“I’m stuck in limbo at the moment really, it is waiting for these scans to get done and hopefully the doctors can work it out from there.”

Originally published as Cult hero Thomas Doyle loses racing’s most famous mullet in Darwin fall: ‘Used a pair of horse clippers’