{"id":97198,"date":"2025-05-13T05:09:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T05:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/97198\/"},"modified":"2025-05-13T05:09:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T05:09:14","slug":"racing-rocked-by-two-deaths-much-loved-stablehand-fiona-ralph-and-newcastle-trainer-ben-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/97198\/","title":{"rendered":"Racing rocked by two deaths, much-loved stablehand Fiona Ralph and Newcastle trainer Ben Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

The racing world i<\/a>s heartbroken after the tragic death of a much-loved stablehand.<\/p>\n

58-year-old Fiona Ralph worked at Bendigo Racecourse and last week was involved in a freak accident in the tie-up stalls which ultimately caused her death.<\/p>\n

It is believed Ralph fell and in the process suffered a serious head injury.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today \"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

She was treated by the on-course medical team and then airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery.<\/p>\n

However, on Monday afternoon Racing Victoria and the Bendigo Jockey Club (BJC) issued a joint statement, saying Ralph\u2019s condition deteriorated and she was \u201cunable to be saved\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ralph was first registered as a stablehand in 2016 but took time out before renewing her registration in January 2024. She then teamed up with Bendigo trainer Toby Lake.<\/p>\n

\"FionaFiona Ralph has died after a tragic accident while working at Bendigo. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are shocked and saddened at the news of Fiona\u2019s passing after what appears to be a tragic accident on raceday at Bendigo,\u201d RV chief Aaron Morrison said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn behalf of all within the Victorian racing industry, I would like to extend our prayers and heartfelt condolences to Fiona\u2019s family and friends at this incredibly tough time.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur thoughts are also with trainer Toby Lake and his staff, along with the team at the Bendigo Jockey Club who are equally shocked at Fiona\u2019s passing.<\/p>\n

\u201cFiona had an incredible love of animals, whether they flew, swam or ran. She grew up alongside horses and she got to combine her passion for animals with her work at the Lake stables.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this tough time, her family have taken comfort knowing that she got to spend her last day watching two of her favourite racehorses at the track.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe racing community is a big family who share a common love of the horse and I know that this sad news will be felt by all, regardless of whether they knew Fiona.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn particular, we\u2019re thinking of all of the stable staff across the state who are providing care for the horses every day, just as Fiona did, and are the unsung heroes of our sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether with others in the industry, we are providing all the support we can to Fiona\u2019s family and the Bendigo racing community to assist them in dealing with this tragic outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bendigo Jockey Club chief Paul Scullie said the local racing community had been \u201cdevastated\u201d but the loss of a \u201cbeloved friend and colleague\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer passing in such tragic circumstances is a shock to us all and one that will take time to overcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Newcastle racing community is also dealing with the shattering news that trainer Ben Smith has died.<\/p>\n

\"TrainerTrainer Ben Smith has died at the age of 42. Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Smith was 42 and had been a controversial figure in the industry after he was hit with a ban (of almost four years) for doping in 2019.<\/p>\n

Smith was found guilty of cobalt offences and conduct charges by Racing NSW stewards.<\/p>\n

Smith returned to training in late 2022 but again struck trouble with stewards and was hit with a 13-month ban in May last year, when he was found guilty of two separate offences relating to banned substances.<\/p>\n

As a result, one of his horses (Arale) was stripped of victory when it was found to have meloxicam in her system.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s second ban was about to end.<\/p>\n

Police have said there are no suspicious circumstances about his death, but are investigating the cause.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jamie Melham goes back-to-back in The Goodwood\u00a0<\/p>\n

2 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Aussie racing royalty and global powerhouse in bombshell split<\/p>\n

2 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The racing world is heartbroken after the tragic death of a much-loved stablehand. 58-year-old Fiona Ralph worked at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":97199,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4107],"tags":[288,1071,93,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-97198","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-racing","8":"tag-horse-racing","9":"tag-racing","10":"tag-sport","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114498802135260085","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}