A horse shied at a parked car. Now the rider is suing two trainers and a prominent breeder

It alleges Freedman failed to heed Begg’s requests to not park the car “in an inappropriate location” – an area that was “likely to cause the horse to take fright”.

The lawsuit also alleges that GSA Bloodstock failed to adequately guard the steel post, and did not display appropriate warning signs.

All three defendants are accused of failing to comply with occupational health and safety regulations, as well as failing to take heed of WorkSafe Publication Horse Stables and Track Riding Safety.

McKenna, who is being represented by Ryan Carlisle Thoms Lawyers, is filing for damages, claiming his accident happened as a result of the negligence of all three defendants.

WorkSafe is acting as the insurer in the case, but declined to comment. The defendants are yet to file a defence to the allegations.

McKenna says the fall left him with a deformed left leg, scarring, chronic pain, the development of deep vein thrombosis, post-traumatic stress and depression.

He says he was earning $1113 a week at the time and expected to work until he was 67. He says he is likely to be incapacitated indefinitely.

The lawsuit says McKenna has not been able to claim hospital and medical expenses according to conditions set out by the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act.

Begg and GSA Bloodstock declined to comment when contacted by this masthead. Freedman was contacted for comment.

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Freedman, who now co-trains with his son Sam, won the 2019 group 1 Caulfield Guineas for Munz with Super Seth, a Dundeel colt that carried the owner’s red-and-white vertical-striped silks.

They also combined to win the 1200m group 2 Gilgai Stakes at Flemington in 2024 with the now-retired mare Right To Party.

Begg has also had group 2 successes for Munz, winning back-to-back Challenge Stakes (1000m) at Randwick with Passive Aggressive in 2023-24.