Apprentice jockey Tala Hutchinson injured after falling from horse which bolted from Lock racecourse in South Australia

A South Australian apprentice jockey has recalled the scary pre-race incident where she fell off an out-of-control horse who was later captured 8km from the racecourse.

Tala Hutchinson after winning on Rockbarton Road at Gawler in June 2024. Picture: Makoto Kaneko

Promising apprentice jockey Tala Hutchinson is nursing a broken leg after a scary pre-race incident at Sunday’s Lock Cup meeting, which saw her riderless mount, Devine Assassin, captured a staggering 8km away from the racecourse.

Hutchinson, 22, was aboard the mare, trained by Garret Lynch, in the opening race of Sunday’s six-race card when Devine Assassin bolted as runners were heading to the barriers for a Benchmark 52 over 1000m.

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The pair completed a full lap of the country circuit, before Hutchinson was eventually dislodged shortly after the winning post.

The incident has left Hutchinson with two fractures in her ankle, along with a fracture in her fibula, and the young hoop, who has enjoyed a promising start to her career with 46 winners in 12 months – is set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines.

“I’ve fractured my ankle in two different places, I need surgery because the weight bearing bone, the talus, has fractured but hasn’t fractured cleanly,” Hutchinson said.

“They have to work out a way to do surgery on it without cutting off my blood supply. I’ve (also) fractured my fibula.

“I had X-rays on it at hospital on Sunday, but they couldn’t see anything obvious. I got back yesterday (Monday) and came to the hospital, did X-rays and they said it was broken.

“They haven’t mentioned a time frame yet, but I’d say I’ll be out for a fair while.”

It’s a sizeable blow for Hutchinson, who won the Best Winning Strike Rate Award (16 per cent) and Minister for Racing Ride of the Year Award (Lunar Solar) at the SA Apprentice Awards in late January.

The hoop rode a treble at Ceduna as recently as February 1.

Hutchinson wins aboard Angel Torque at Murray Bridge on December 8. Picture: Makoto Kaneko

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Devine Assassin started Sunday’s defiant pre-race antics in the mounting yard, with Hutchinson unable to aid herself with her stirrups before the mare took off.

“She wouldn’t leave the mounting yard, she just kept planting her feet,” she said.

“Garret legged me on while we were moving, just to keep her going, I got on and cantered off and I didn’t have any of my irons.

“She kept getting faster and faster, I was hoping she would pull up with the other horses but she just kept going.

“We did a full lap of the track, she went to duck back to the (horse) trucks, so I just grabbed some mane, hoping she wouldn’t run through the fence.

“She ducked away from the fence and I just lost balance and fell off.”

While Hutchinson grappled with a heavy hit to the turf, Devine Assassin, who was declared a late scratching, galloped on freely, exiting the racecourse as clerks of the course and a car with float engaged in pursuit.

The five-year-old daughter of Rebel Raider, who has won two races from 28 starts, made her escape through a large paddock behind the racetrack, and was caught almost an hour later.

Onlookers spectate at Lock racecourse. Picture: Racing SA

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The mare ventured a whopping eight kilometres away from the racecourse, five kilometres south of the town of Lock.

“They tell me she went five kilometres to the other side of Lock, the racecourse is three kilometres out of town, she would’ve travelled eight kilometres,” trainer Garret Lynch said.

“They went out chasing her on the clerk of the course horses, someone went with a car and float as well, they ended up giving up and bringing the clerk horses back on the float, and going with the float and searching.

“She went through town and kept going the other side of town apparently.”

Remarkably, Devine Assassin escaped serious injury, but a post-race veterinary check found the mare to be lame in the near foreleg.

The stewards’ report detailed that the mare will need a veterinary clearance prior to a future jumpout, trial or race start.

It also stated that the mare would be required to perform to the satisfaction of stewards in an official trial or jumpout prior to her next race start.

Barbadian hoop Wesley Cave, who rode three winners at Sunday’s meeting, won the Lock Cup aboard Our Destrier for trainer Brett Campbell.

Cave’s treble included a win for Lynch in the final race on the card, providing Lynch with a reason to smile on an otherwise turbulent afternoon.