Jockey Dane O'Neill has been taken to hospital for further assessment and Tuesday's first race at Wolverhampton was voided after the Charlie Hills-trained Eagle Eyed Tom (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}) stumbled at the break and appeared to clip heels, tossing the rider to the course. O'Neill was attended to on the track and there was an 11-minute delay as O'Neill was taken off on a stretcher.
“Dane sustained a fall after leaving the stalls in the first race, which was then voided,” Fergus Cameron, clerk of the course at Wolverhampton, said. “He was treated on track by our paramedics and was conscious throughout. He was then taken in an ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for further assessment.”
The stewards inquired into the incident as well.
“The clerk of the course and the jockeys who had ridden in the race excluding Dane O'Neill, were interviewed,” the stewards report said. “The clerk of the course explained that as the injured jockey was being attended to on the course in the home straight, and that it was not possible for the rest of the field to safely pass, the decision was made in conjunction with the head groundsman to initiate the 'stop race' procedure and deploy the 'stop race' flag. The stewards declared the race void.”
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