Izzy Neale

On Sunday 8 November 2026 Neale rode Marnoo, trained by Kieren Hazelton, in the Cotton Cup over 1600 metres, race six at Warren. Near the 400 metre mark the horse faltered with a near foreleg injury and fell. Apprentice Diego Montes de Oca was dislodged from Shadow Dane in the same incident and suffered soft tissue injuries to his foot. Marnoo was euthanised and the last race of the program was abandoned.

Neale lost consciousness and was airlifted to Dubbo Base Hospital in a critical condition, where she was placed on life support. Racing NSW postponed the Monday meeting at Scone out of respect. Late on Tuesday 10 November 2026 her family announced through Racing NSW that she had died, surrounded by her closest family and friends, and that her organs would be donated. She was 22. Funeral arrangements had not been made public at the time of writing.

Izzy Neale was born and raised in Merriwa, a small town in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales. Her exact date of birth has not been made public; she was 21 in early 2026 and 22 when she died. Horses were part of her life from the start. Her family said she rode horses before she could walk, and her background was in camp drafting and barrel racing rather than thoroughbred racing. She left school at 16 to work with horses.

Neale left school at 16 and learned her trade on the job. She worked on horse studs, preparing yearlings at Evergreen Stud Farm, before moving into a pre-training operation. She learned to ride racehorses under the late Muswellbrook trainer Pat Farrell, then spent two years with Rod Northam at Scone, who advised her to begin on the picnic circuit. She then spent about a year working for Randwick trainer John Thompson in Sydney before starting her race riding career.

Neale's first race ride came at the Condobolin picnic races in February 2024 and she won it, on Scruff's Magic in a Class 1 trophy race. She rode on the picnic circuit, where she said she could learn without cameras on her, and lost enough weight to move into the professional ranks. After a short time with Cody Morgan she joined the Dubbo stable of Brett Robb as an apprentice.

In early 2026 she reached 50 career wins with Wasted Days at Parkes and said her aim was to outride her country claim by the end of the year. She had her first city ride on Poisen Point at Randwick on 25 April 2026, and in June 2026 was one of a record eight female apprentices riding at Rosehill Gardens on the same day. On 4 July 2026 she won the TAB Highway Handicap at Rosehill on It's A Tata, a horse she had ridden in all of his starts, for her first metropolitan winner.

Later in 2026 she rode on loan for leading Scone trainer Scott Singleton. Her final winners came at the end of October 2026, on Think Back at Moree and Ole Steele at Newcastle. At the time of her death she had ridden 88 winners from 699 rides at a strike rate of about 13 per cent, including 11 rides in Sydney.

Neale was described by those around her as hardworking and popular in the Hunter and central west racing communities. She told Sky Racing shortly before her death that she was about to finalise the purchase of her first house. No spouse or children have been reported. Her family asked for privacy after her death.

Neale spoke openly about taking a patient, low key route into racing. She said starting on the picnic circuit "opened my eyes to what it's all about without having all the cameras" and that a rocky start in Dubbo, with lots of second placings, "taught me to [be] patient." She said the success of other female apprentices moving into the provincial ranks was inspiring to her.

Neale was one of a growing group of young women riding in New South Wales, part of a generation Racing NSW pointed to as a sign of the changing face of racing. Her death, the first of a jockey from a race fall in the state since 2017, prompted an outpouring of grief across Australian racing and renewed attention on rider safety. Through organ donation, her family said, she would give others the chance of life.

Winner on debut: Scruff's Magic, Condobolin picnic races, February 2024. 50th career winner: Wasted Days at Parkes, early 2026. First metropolitan winner: It's A Tata, TAB Highway Handicap (1200 metres), Rosehill Gardens, 4 July 2026. Final winners: Think Back at Moree and Ole Steele at Newcastle, late October 2026.