'It was painful' - Ben Curtis rides Newcastle winner with dislocated shoulder

Ben Curtis appears to have avoided serious injury at Newcastle on Friday evening, when the rider dislocated his shoulder during the mile handicap but still managed to partner Crack Regiment to victory.

The incident happened in the closing stages when his right shoulder popped out of its socket as he picked up his whip. The jockey continued to push with his left arm in the final few yards to hold off 9-4 favourite Tarroob by a head.

Curtis missed his rides on Saturday but his injury is not feared to be too serious and he could return by the end of next week, although much will depend on the verdict of a specialist.

His agent, Simon Dodds, said: "Ben was x-rayed and they put his shoulder back in and that's fine, but his return is dependent on the verdict of Dr Jerry Hill and the medical team.

Ben Curtis and Crack Regiment (near side) hold on to score at Newcastle on Friday nightCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"We hope he can ride out early next week and he's hoping to be back as soon as possible. He'll need to see the specialist and that'd give us the timeline. But he feels great, there's no pain and we just need to clear the medical process. We're keeping positive."

The extraordinary triumph on the Henry Spiller-trained four-year-old gave Curtis his 33rd win in the Flat jockeys' championship in Britain to keep him in fourth place, behind Tom Marquand, Oisin Murphy and leader William Buick. Curtis is as short as 10-1 with Sky Bet to be crowned champion jockey.

Watch Ben Curtis ride Newcastle winner despite dislocated shoulder

Speaking to Sky Sports Racing, Curtis said: "I just went to give him a reminder and my shoulder popped out, which made it a little bit uncomfortable in the last 100 yards. Luckily we still won.

"Your arm just goes limp and it just feels like a dead weight. There's not much you can do, I was just trying to keep him straight with one arm.

"It was painful. I spent the next five minutes trying to persuade someone to put it back in but no-one would take the risk and I was shipped off to hospital."

The in-running comment

Held up in midfield, smooth headway over 1f out, soon switched left, ridden to lead when rider dislocated shoulder inside final 110yds, edged right, ran on

Read the full Newcastle analysis

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