Jockey knocked unconscious in fall

Central Districts jockey Leah Hemi will miss the Boxing Day meeting at Awapuni following a nasty fall on Saturday.

Hemi, 31, was knocked unconscious in a race day fall at the Awapuni track.

Hemi fell from her mount Derecho within 100 metres of the winning post in race three.

Racing Integrity Unit stipendiary steward Neil Goodwin confirmed Hemi was transferred to Palmerston North Hospital hospital by ambulance for observation.

He said early indications were that Hemi had escaped serious injury other than the concussion.

Hemi was conscious when she left the track.

She is listed for five rides on Boxing Day but Goodwin confirmed she will not ride at the meeting and will need to pass a concussion test before she makes her return.

Derecho stayed on his feet and galloped on riderless before being caught at the completion of the two-year-old event won by the impressive Sword Of Osman.

Stuff understands the Matthew Ealestrained Derecho, who was on debut, did not suffer any serious injuries.

Meanwhile, the proven Group I winning combination of Cambridge trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman along with leading jockey Matthew Cameron were running hot at Te Rapa on Saturday.

Cameron rode four winners, with three of them coming aboard Baker and Forsman-trained runners Tomelilla, Highlad and Nicoletta.

His other winner at Te Rapa came aboard the Joseph Waldron-trained Princess Dillon.

The Baker-Forsman and Cameron trio will be hoping to keep that run going on Boxing Day at Ellerslie with Lizzie L’Amour in the $200,000 Group I Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic (2000m).

Cameron and the Baker-Forsmantrained mare will jump from barrier five.

Bookmakers have opened the Zabeel mare as an equal second favourite with Chance To Dance at $5.

Hiflyer, trained by Peter Lock, has been opened as a $2.80 favourite.

The promising son of Tavistock, who will tackle the 2000m trip for the first time, will be gunning for four wins on the trot in his first start in Group I company.

The Donna Logan and Chris Gibbstrained Volkstok’n’barrell, who ran second behind upset winner Consensus in the last year’s edition of the Zabeel Classic, has also been kept safe at $5.50.

Consensus, who will be ridden by the Australian-based Kiwi jockey Mick Dee, is at $9.