The sister of a former beauty queen who died while working at Michael Owen's stables has spoken out as her family wait for blood test results to come back.
Jessica Whalley was a transport manager at Manor House Stables in Malpas, Cheshire which is owned by the former Liverpool FC star and his daughter Gemma Owen. Jessica died after collapsing at the stables shortly before 7.30am on March 28.
Jessica's half sister Leonna Mayor thought the post-mortem would shed light on a underlying heart condition, but it did not. However, she says Jessica is believed to have had a cardiac arrest, reports the Liverpool ECHO. The family are also waiting for the toxicology results.
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Ms Mayor, a former jockey who now works as a presenter on Sky Sports and ITV's coverage of horse racing, said: "She was very young and I feel the pain of my grandmother and aunt who were very close to her. As far as we know, she cantered up the gallop on the first lot, got to the top and had a cardiac arrest.
"They tried to resuscitate her for 30 minutes but they couldn't bring her back. She has since had a post-mortem and nothing has shown up. We assumed that something would come to light, a heart defect or something we didn't know was there, but it hasn't. We now have to wait for the blood tests - it's six to 12 weeks for full blood works.
"We weren't that close. But I felt a really weird sad emptiness really, not being close to her or having a relationship for the last few years."
Jessica, a former beauty queen having entered the 2019 Miss Tourism Universe pageant, was described as a "much loved and respected member of the racing community" by the National Association of Racing Staff CEO George McGrath.
Former jockey Zander Voy also wrote on Twitter: "It’s heartbreaking to hear Jess lost her life today at the tender age of 25. She was riding out doing what she loved."
Speaking in April, Owen described Jessica's death as "the worst day of my life". In an interview with Sky Sports Racing, he said: "It was a tragic incident that could have happened at any time. Nothing can really prepare you for something like that.
"A young girl who was supremely talented at what she did, who was massively popular, a really important member of the yard, the staff and everything else. Lots of people will be out there feeling the same thing. They will have lost somebody close to them or family member of whatever it is.
"What words can you say to describe it? Being there and being part of the whole day with the ambulance staff, who were amazing. Having to come down and tell 40 or her friends what's happened and things like that, what can you say? It was the worst day of my life."
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