Saloon Park, Cranbourne Turf Club charged over Echuca jockey Mikaela Claridge’s death

A witness says a Cranbourne track “shouldn’t have been open” on the day an Echuca jockey fell from her horse and died.

Mikaela Claridge was killed in the tragic accident in 2019. Photo: Leonie Grbic/Racing Photos.

A witness in the case of an Echuca jockey killed during track work at Cranbourne Racing Club says the area “shouldn’t have been open” on the day she fell to her death, a court has heard.

Apprentice jockey Mikaela Claridge, 22, was killed after falling from a horse while riding a track known as the sand trails on August 30, 2019.

The court earlier heard Ms Claridge had spoken about how dark the track was in the moments before her death.

On Tuesday Anthony Swords, the general manager of Ultra Thoroughbreds, told the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court he had previously walked the track “to collect injured riders”.

Mr Swords was not present at Cranbourne at the time of the incident.

“It shouldn’t have been open,” he said when asked whether riders should have been allowed to access the sand trails in the dark.

Mr Swords also revealed he had approached Cranbourne Turf Club management over the condition of the area after feedback from trainers and track riders.

The court heard Swords attended a meeting with the club’s chief executive Neil Bainbridge on February 1, 2019 to discuss the issues he first raised on social media.

Mr Swords said the presence of wallabies on the track was another issue he raised at the meeting.

“I don’t think there was any,” was his response when he was asked about lighting on the track.

“If the gates are open to the back track (what Sword’s referred to as the sand trails as in his statement to WorkSafe) are open it would be deemed safe to ride on.”

Swords’ evidence came after another trainer, Mark Webb, was questioned about the track by defence lawyers for Cranbourne Turf Club Inc and Saloon Park Pty Ltd, who are facing charges over the incident, earlier in the day.

He described the track as a “good tool for training horses” saying wildlife was “the only issue”.

Mr Webb said his horses usually used the track at 7am but that was only due to the availability of his employees.

“If I had track riders who could be there at 4am, I would be there,” he said.

On Monday, the court heard Ms Claridge was riding Dharma, one of the “tamest” horses trained by Saloon Park when she fell and later died.

The prosecution claimed the sand trails track was “not well lit” with “no running rails around” it running over 1400m and “through dense bushland”.

They also made note of wildlife being observed on the trail from “time to time”.

Mikaela Claridge was a star on the rise before she fell from a horse and died. Picture: Brendan McCarthy/Racing Photos via Getty Images

The court was also told the sand trails at Cranbourne was a slow track with horses and jockeys only permitted to “trot or canter”.

The prosecution made note of Ms Claridge’s “extensive background” as an equestrian rider before she became an apprentice jockey with 20 years experience altogether.

The hearing continues.

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