Joe Fanning avoids serious injury in Wolverhampton fall with Oisin Murphy suspended for nine days for careless riding

Joe Fanning avoided serious injury at Wolverhampton on Monday night in a fall that led to fellow rider Oisin Murphy being suspended for nine days for careless riding.

Fanning was unseated from the Charlie Johnston-trained Sennockian just after the winning post in the feature 1m½f handicap and was knocked out in the fall, but was conscious and had feeling in all his limbs when stretchered off the track.

He was taken to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton as a precaution for scans and returned home with Tim Jarvis, Johnston's travelling manager, in the early hours.

Fanning will consult BHA chief medical adviser Jerry Hill to assess how long he is likely to be out of action.

"I'm not really sure what happened," said Fanning, who is the seventh winning-most jockey in British Flat racing history. "I think we may have bumped after the line and I lost my balance.

"I was concussed and I had scans but they were fine and I got home at about 3am. I'm not sure how long I'll be out for, I need to speak to Jerry today because I was knocked out."

A stewards’ inquiry was called following the race and four incidents of interference were identified, with Sennockian hanging left off the bend and bumping Murphy’s mount Dr Foster a furlong and a half out despite Fanning’s best efforts to straighten his mount. That was deemed accidental as was the light contact between the two runners after the furlong marker.

Murphy was deemed by stewards to have allowed his mount to drift right-handed away from the whip causing interference to Sennockian in the closing stages, before using his whip again in the left hand with Dr Foster shifting right, giving a significant bump to the winner who became badly unbalanced and unseated Fanning.

Murphy, a three-time champion jockey in Britain, will be on the sidelines on March 11 and 12 and from March 18 to March 24, which includes the two-day Lincoln meeting at Doncaster.

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