Jockey attacked with a rock thought she was going to be killed

01 August 2023 , 10:32

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Jockey attacked with a rock thought she was going to be killed

Australian jockey Sonja Wiseman thought she was going to be killed after being attacked with a rock during a terrifying car-jacking.

The 31-year-old, who has ridden 435 winners in her career, was retrieving an item from her car on Friday morning when she was surrounded by a gang of up to 15 men. She tried to escape but in her panic was unable to get her car started.

A rock was used to smash the passenger side window before Wiseman herself was then hit in the face with it. Recounting the ordeal to Racenet, she said: "These men were literally like a pack of coyotes going on a hunt.

"I was screaming, I knew it was going to be bad. My partner [Darwin trainer Tommy Logan] was asleep in the house, I called Triple 0. One of the men was circling the car with a metal or timber object.

Wiseman was hit in the head with a rock during the attack (INTERENET PICTURE)

"They then smashed me in the face with a rock, broke my nose in three places, cut my lip and smashed my teeth. I tried to drive off the wrong way down the Highway, but a group of them blocked me. I just kept screaming to the 000 operator and honking my horn. I was saying 'They are going to kill me.'"

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The attack only came to an end when security guards at a nearby Army barracks heard the car horn and came to disperse the group of men. A neighbour then treated Wiseman's injuries by wrapping her face in a towel before she was transported to hospital for further treatment.

Wiseman sustained an open fracture of her nose, had two teeth knocked out and suffered other facial injuries. She is due to marry her partner Tommy Logan later this month and has been left gutted by the injuries she sustained but is thankful that the consequences weren't more serious.

Wiseman has also been booked to ride at the Darwin Cup next week and was due to ride Lethal Encounter but there is currently doubt over whether she will be able to attend. "The medical people have given me clearance to ride trackwork on Wednesday, but if my nose bleeds or if I get any pain I won't be able to ride at the races, they are also worried about an infection," Wiseman added.

"I'm also getting married in three weeks, so I'm pretty upset on a lot of fronts that I have got facial injuries like I have got at the moment. But I'm also lucky that I'm alive, I was really fearing the worst when I was trapped in my car. It is crazy to think you are not safe sitting in your car." Police are already investigating the incident.

Daniel Orme