‘This will be my carnival’: Darwin jockey Sonja Logan puts savage bashing behind her

Brave jockey Sonja Logan says she is in a good place ahead of the Darwin Cup carnival after last year’s shocking incident where she was bashed in a brutal assault which created global headlines.

Jockey Sonja Wiseman got married three weeks after she was bashed in a savage attack outside her home in Darwin. Almost a year on, she has high hopes for the Darwin Cup carnival and already been booked for a Cup ride.

Brutally bashed in a nightmare ordeal almost a year ago, brave jockey Sonja Logan has adopted the mantra “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” as she prepares for a golden Darwin Cup carnival.

Logan (nee Wiseman) admits she still gets some anxiety at night from the shocking incident where a group of men circled her car and she was smashed in the face by a rock.

Police are still yet to make any arrests over the night attack where Logan was left with an open fracture of her nose, had two of her teeth knocked out and sustained other facial injuries in an assault where she feared she was going to die.

• ‘They are going to kill me': Jockey bashed in terrifying ordeal

Jockey Sonja Logan’s injured after being bashed by a group of men last year. Picture: Supplied.

Logan said she may have a few lingering mental scars, but has adopted a highly positive mindset heading into the Darwin Cup carnival where she has already scored a Cup ride after missing the race last year.

She had a confidence boosting win last Saturday when scoring the $75,000 Darwin Guineas.

“I still have some hard days, some things make me more anxious than I used to be,” Logan told Racenet.

“If it’s late at night and I hear people walking near my house, I get a bit worried.

“But I’m pretty good now.

“What happened to me really sucked, but at the same time I lived to fight another day.

“It could have been a lot worse, some people don’t get away with their lives from these sort of attacks, so in a way I feel like I’m quite lucky.

“I’ve had a lot of support around me the whole time which has been fantastic.

“I do 100 per cent think that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

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Sonja Logan winning the Darwin Guineas last Saturday on the Kym Healy-trained He’s Maverick. Picture: Caroline Camilleri

Logan told Racenet after the attack last August that her attackers “were literally like a pack of coyotes going on a hunt” as they surrounded her car, shattered a window and hit her in the face with a rock.

She said the police investigation had been stymied by CCTV footage which had been blinded when Logan frantically turned on her headlights, leaving authorities unable to establish the identities of the attackers.

Logan married Darwin trainer Tommy Logan only weeks after the attack and the couple has been considering pulling up stumps and shifting away from the Top End after the attack which made worldwide headlines.

Sonja Logan’s wedding to trainer Tommy Logan. Picture: Shot From The Heart Photography

But they stayed put and now Logan, who sits third in this season’s Northern Territory jockeys’ premiership with 34.5 winners, is primed for a bumper Darwin carnival.

“I didn’t end up riding in a few big races last year because of what happened,” Logan said.

“The hardest thing last year was even when I was OK to ride, some people didn’t want to put me on because they might not have thought I was OK after I was assaulted.

“That was fair enough, they are entitled to feel how they want to feel.

“It was what it was and I am well past that now.

“I am hoping this will be my carnival.

“I have got a Darwin Cup ride lined up already this year (Starspangled Baby) who is going really well, she’s come from down south and Andy Perdon trains her.

“There was a year that I had a race fall and missed out on the Cup, the year after that I thought I was on the best horse in the field and the horse got injured, and then last year I got assaulted.

“I think I’m due for a bit of luck, right?

“It’s due to happen.”

Originally published as ‘This will be my carnival’: Darwin jockey Sonja Logan puts savage bashing behind her