O’brien ‘conscious’ after fall
Jockey flown to hospital as Druids Cross is killed Battaash backed for glory at Goodwood and York
Ana O’brien, the jockey daughter of all-conquering Irish trainer Aidan O’brien, was airlifted from Killarney for medical care at Cork University Hospital last night after a heavy fall, although she was said be conscious when she left the course.
The fall occurred a quarter of a mile out in a mile Flat race when O’brien’s mount, Druids Cross, went down heavily. The horse, which was trained by her brother Joseph, was fatally injured.
The 3lb claiming apprentice, who rode in both the Epsom and Curragh Derby for her father in June and has increasingly come in for big-race rides on the stable’s less fancied runners, was attended to by medical staff. Val O’connell, clerk of the course, delayed the next race by an hour, and said: “Ana was conscious when she left the track.”
Ruby Walsh, who was riding at the mixed jump and Flat meeting, said: “I think the news was a bit better when she was leaving. So hopefully that is right.”
Winning trainer, Sheila Lavery, said the victory paled into insignificance. “All that matters is Ana, to be honest,” she added. Though Flat jockeys generally take a lot fewer falls than their jumping counterparts, they are often worse because they are usually so unexpected.
Charlie Hills, meanwhile, is hoping Battaash, a potential superstar in the sprinting ranks, can help put a frustrating first half of the season behind him by spearheading his Goodwood team before taking on Lady Aurelia in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York in late August.
The Sheikh Hamdan-owned gelding is unbeaten in two starts at Sandown this season and his 3¼ length victory in the Coral Charge, when he broke the track record, marked him down as one of the few British horses that might be capable of giving King’s Stand winner Lady Aurelia a run for her money.
The proof of that pudding will be in Goodwood’s King George Stakes. Last year, Battaash was difficult to train, but this season he has not put a foot wrong according to Hills, who guided Muhaarar to Champion sprinter status two seasons ago.
“He was always quick, but quirky last year,” explained the trainer. “He won his maiden impressively and we ran him in the Windsor Castle, but he messed around in the stalls and blew it. We got him back, did a stalls test and he ran some good races in the autumn, finishing third three times, and I think they broke the track record in two of them.”