Laura Lafferty hurt after nasty fall at Ballarat

Laura Lafferty was airlifted to hospital with suspected internal injuries following a nasty fall at Ballarat on Thursday.

Laura Lafferty has been involved in a fall at Ballarat. Reg Ryan/Racing Photos via Getty Images

Jockey Laura Lafferty was taken to hospital in Melbourne by helicopter after a nasty incident at Ballarat.

Lafferty was leading the field on The Praised One, a $201 outsider in a 1400m maiden, when her mount shied at about the 800m mark and dislodged the rider.

The Praised One continued riderless.

Racing Victoria steward Alex Streckbain said Lafferty has suspected internal injuries.

“At this stage she’s conscious and being transported off the course to the helicopter base near here where she’ll be flown to Melbourne,” Streckbain said.

“She has injuries that are internal, (medical staff) can’t give me an update on at this stage but it appears she may have been trodden on or struck a blow at some point when she’s come down.

“They’re looking at this stage to stabilize her and get her to Melbourne to make a full assessment of exactly what type of injuries she has.”

The incident in race 2 forced an indefinite delay.

Streckbain said stewards would update other riders at the meeting on Lafferty’s condition.

“We’re getting the riders into the stewards room to get them a full update … as well as giving them the option to have a look at the track, if they wish, as well as looking at the replay so they can see exactly what the horse has done to cause Miss Lafferty to come off,” Streckbain told Racing.com.

“At that stage if there is to be a vote (to continue the meeting or not) we’ll go down that path, we’re going to inform the riders and give them the opportunity to speak to us about how they feel about the situation.”

Jockey Harry Coffey, who won the race aboard Double Market, said the field was tightly bunched when the incident happened.

“I hope she’s OK,” Coffey said.

“Winning is a good feeling but when there’s a lot else going on it’s not everything.”

Coffey indicated windy conditions made it difficult to handle the horses on Thursday.

His mount in the first race was scratched before the first race after the filly got a fright and reared up in the gates.

“It’s very windy out there today and I think we all know horses aren’t their usual selves in the wind,” Coffey said.

There is no concern at this stage with the section of the track where the incident occurred.

A steward and track manager has inspected the surface.

Lafferty has endured an injury-plagued career to date.

She sustained a concussion, ligament damage and bone bruising in a bad fall at Swan Hill in 2021.

Lafferty suffered another concussion, whiplash and bone bruising to the hip and elbow in 2022 when a mount at The Valley experienced a medical episode.

Originally published as Laura Lafferty hurt after nasty fall at Ballarat