Group 1-winning trainer Rob Heathcote will be at the bedside of Leah Kilner later on Tuesday as the racing world continues to rally behind her.
Rob Heathcote is preparing for a deeply emotional hospital visit on Tuesday where he will hold Leah Kilner’s hand and most likely be asked to help wake the much-loved jockey up again.
Kilner’s father Greg spent time with Heathcote in the Eagle Farm trainers’ tower on Tuesday morning and the family has now asked the multiple Group 1 winning trainer to be at the injured jockey’s hospital bedside.
On Monday, Kilner amazingly squeezed her mum’s hand when she briefly woke up from her induced coma in a sign which offered hope.
There are plans to bring her out of sedation for a short period today and in the coming days.
“Her mother has asked me to come up today, they say even when you are in a coma that you can hear people,” Heathcote said.
“She said Leah would love me to be there and I’ve got to ask her to wake up.
“I’ve just had Leah’s Dad here in the tower with me at Eagle Farm … Leah’s apartment is here at Eagle Farm so he has gone there to get something.
“He doesn’t say much, he is a very quietly spoken man.
“Leah has had a very restful night, she is still in a coma, but the doctors are happy enough.
“They are probably going to bring her out (of the induced coma) briefly today.
“The wave of emotion that flowed from her mum when she squeezed her hand on Monday was amazing, it was such a sense of relief.”
As Kilner continues to face a major health battle following a shocking fall at Grafton on Sunday, there will be another emotional moment at Doomben races on Saturday.
Heathcote-trained sprinter The Big Goodbye, which Kilner has won three races on including the last two in succession, will line up in a Class Six Plate.
The Big Goodbye, racing under the “Queensland Rogues banner” and owned by a huge band of micro-owners, is one of Kilner’s two favourite horses.
In a nice touch, Heathcote revealed The Big Goodbye will now be ridden by Kilner’s fellow apprentice jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor.
Wilson-Taylor is Brisbane’s leading apprentice and cut his teeth riding against Kilner in northern NSW.
“Kyle Wilson-Taylor will ride The Big Goodbye on Saturday,” Heathcote confirmed.
“Significantly, the owners of this horse love Leah because she has ridden the horse so well, won three races on him and won on Ipswich Cup day on him where she gave him a ten out of ten ride,” Heathcote said.
“They have also started up a gofundme page to raise some money for her.
“The outpouring of sympathy and goodwill messages has stunned me.
“It’s been incredible.
“This girl is so universally loved by so many.”
Kilner was probably born to be a jockey.
Her surname is well known in the NSW Northern Rivers region as she is the daughter of jockey-turned-trainer Greg and the niece of racing stalwart Hunter Kilner.
The racing world is right behind her.
She was cleared of serious spinal issues following extensive scans at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital on Monday but still has a long road ahead in her medical fight.
Originally published as Rob Heathcote prepares to visit Leah Kilner in hospital on Tuesday
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