Walsh’s horror fall as injuries overshadow dramatic Gold Cup

THIS is the sickening moment when top jockey Ruby Walsh broke his arm at the outset of a day of carnage which overshadowed a dramatic Cheltenham Gold Cup.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Mar 2014, 22:22 BST

A fall indicative of the bravery of jump jockeys, and the risks they take, the outcome could have been worse for the leading Irish rider who was being treated in hospital when his intended Gold Cup mount On His Own lost the big race by a short head under substitute jockey David Casey. He underwent surgery last night.

Walsh’s friend and rival, Daryl Jacob, broke his leg, knee and elbow when his horse Port Melon jinked before the third race, crashed through a plastic running rail and threw him to the ground as a Channel Four camera position was sent flying. In the final race, Mark Walsh was taken to hospital with chest injuries.

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Meanwhile Bryan Cooper, 21, was undergoing further surgery yesterday on the multiple injuries he sustained on Wednesday. His leg-break has been described as “the worst fracture I have ever seen in a lower limb” by Dr Adrian McGoldrick, chief medical officer of the Irish Turf Club.