Roach in hospital after gallops accident

Cheshire trainer Hannah Roach, who saddled a superb four-timer at Knightwick on Saturday, is in Royal Stoke hospital after suffering back injuries when falling on the gallops yesterday.

She was due to be operated on today (Thursday) after damaging two vertebrae, although the initial assessment is promising. Knocked out by the impact, she was able to move her toes after recovering consciousness.

Roach, 22, was riding her own horse, Cheltenham winner Iskandar Pecos, when the accident happened. Her mentor, Joe O’Shea, was watching and called for immediate medical assistance.

He said: “It’s so sad. After the highs of Saturday we feared something might happen. Hannah had just given Pecos a good blow when a bandage he was wearing came loose, he trod on it, tripped himself up and catapulted her out the front. The horse was concussed, but he’s going to be okay. He’s a bit stiff and sore, but he’s out in a little paddock and seems okay.

“There is a lesson here for everyone that we should always tape bandages up whenever we use them. He was only wearing one because he was taken on a cross-country ride recently and got a nick on the inside of his tendon. Yesterday I washed it, but said to Hannah ‘I would put a bandage on that just to keep it clean,’ and so she did.”

Roach was initially taken to the local hospital in Leighton, where her mother is a nurse and was there to meet her, but after a scan she was moved to Stoke for surgery.

She started training last season from O’Shea’s yard – having been his assistant for several seasons – and enjoyed a tremendous start, with six point-to-point winners and a further five successes in hunters’ chases.

Iskandar Pecos (right, Huw Edwards) on his way to Cheltenham success last season