Jockey Ben Sutton 'conscious' in Wrexham hospital following Bangor fall

There was an encouraging update on amateur jockey Ben Sutton on Tuesday evening after he was knocked unconscious in a fall at Bangor in the afternoon.

Sutton, 22, was riding 9-4 favourite Kepy Blanc for trainer Philip Hobbs in the 2m1½f handicap chase when the seven-year-old fell at the third fence. The jockey fell awkwardly and remained on the ground as the rest of the runners moved away.

The rider was attended to on the track by medical staff and the stewards deployed the yellow 'stop race' flag, prompting the other jockeys to pull up and resulting in the race being voided.

Sutton, who was seeking his first win under rules on his tenth ride, regained consciousness while he was at the racecourse and was subsequently sent to Wrexham Maelor hospital for further assessment. He was reported to be moving all of his limbs after the fall.

Hobbs said: “Ben is conscious and he’s gone to Wrexham hospital for precautionary x-rays on his neck. Hopefully, he should be fine.”

Racing was delayed by 25 minutes at Bangor as Sutton was treated and clerk of the course Andrew Tulloch confirmed Kepy Blanc had been euthanised following the fall.

The son of former jockey Nick Sutton, Ben Sutton was champion national novice point-to-point jockey in the 2020-21 season, securing the title with a treble on the final day of the season.

Kepy Blanc was running in the colours of Nick Sutton for the first time at Bangor having raced last season for David Maxwell. The seven-year-old won one of his ten races and was placed on three other occasions, winning £11,785 in prize-money.

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