Racing NSW to assist Canberra participants

Monday 11 December 2017, 5:53pm

Sydney trainer Pat Webster will visit Canberra to offer support to friends and family of local track rider and picnic jockey Samara Johnson who died in a car accident in which her partner Garry Kirkup was seriously injured.

As well as being a successful trainer, Webster works as a drug and alcohol counsellor for Racing NSW and will go to the Canberra track on Wednesday as part of the Racing Mates program designed to support participants in need.

Webster said it was an opportunity for the local racing community, many of whom have been working overtime to ensure Kirkup's stable remained operational, to get together to talk about what had happened.

"It's most important for people to talk," Webster said.

"I will be going with chaplain Brother Dan Stafford and hopefully we can be of some help but we just want to make sure people know we are there and available."

Kirkup remains in Canberra Hospital after suffering abdominal, hand and foot injuries in the single car crash on December 3 in the NSW Riverina.

Johnson's family was at Rosehill on Saturday where Kirkup's stable star Highly Geared raced.

The mare, part-owned by Kirkup's son Ben, was unplaced in the race in which she was ridden by apprentice Rachel Hunt who wore Samara's name on her breeches.

The gathering for a breakfast barbecue at the Canberra racecourse will be at 9.30am on Wednesday.

The Canberra Racing Club will honour Johnson with a race in her name at its meeting on Sunday while the Macquarie Picnic Racing Club has renamed its main race at Trangie in western NSW on December 29.

The 1400m-race will be known as the Samara Johnson Memorial Macquarie Picnic Cup.

– AAP

Latest News

Prime Thoroughbreds - We have a Host of Leaders in our Team

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

Prime Thor­ough­bred’s cur­rent rac­ing team is putt­ing to­gether quite a re­cord. We have 22 hors­es that have raced in our team at pre­sent. Six­teen of th­ese are win­n­ers in­clud­ing the Stakes win­n­ing trio Ru­bisa­ki, Fituese and Xtreme­time with Miss Di­vine Em and Miss In Charge run­n­ing 4th in Stakes races. This sees a stakes win­n­er to win­n­er ra­tio of 18.75% with a stake’s per­formed to win­n­er ra­tio of 31.25%. Th­ese are ex­cep­tio­n­al fig­ures.   More »

Freedmans land maiden Group One win

Saturday, 27 February 2021

Un­der-rat­ed fil­ly For­bid­den Love has emerged as an au­tumn car­ni­val smokey with a bril­liant per­for­mance to win the Sur­round Stakes at Rand­wick.  More »

Capriccio completes Damian Lane treble

Saturday, 27 February 2021

In a big day for coun­try-trained hors­es, War­r­nam­bool fil­ly Capric­cio has tak­en out the In­glis Dash for Daniel Bow­man.  More »

More news headlines »