'I was lying in hospital and said to myself this is probably going to be it' - amateur rider hoping for champagne York moment

Becky Smith: "This could be a career-ending injury - but if you want to get back, we will work to get you back"Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

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From lying in Leeds General Infirmary fearing it was all over to finally winning her body weight in champagne — Becky Smith hopes to complete a remarkable journey at York on Saturday.

The former women's amateur champion has been trying to win the Queen Mother's Cup and its unique prize for 13 years. But it took eight months of arduous rehabilitation to earn another chance.

Smith, 37, suffered a fracture and a posterior dislocation of her hip in a fall at Wetherby last October and she recalled on Friday: "Looking at the scans the hip joint looked like the windscreen on a car that had been in a crash."

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David CarrReporter

Published on 14 June 2024inPreviews

Last updated 18:30, 14 June 2024

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13:50 York

Queen Mother's Cup Handicap (For Female Amateur Jockeys)18 ran

1st
6Lord Melbourne
fav9/2
2nd
15Whimsy
7/1
3rd
16Gibside
17/2
4th
2Baryshnikov
25/1