Jockey Lorna Brooke rushed to hospital in air ambulance after horror ‘faceplant’ fall at Taunton

JOCKEY Lorna Brooke was rushed to hospital via air ambulance after a horror ‘faceplant’ fall at Taunton. Brooke came crashing down in the 4.55 race while on 16-1 shot Orchestrated – but fortunately was said to be ‘awake and alert’ by the time the helicopter arrived. Held up behind the leaders, Brooke lost control at […]

JOCKEY Lorna Brooke was rushed to hospital via air ambulance after a horror ‘faceplant’ fall at Taunton.

Brooke came crashing down in the 4.55 race while on 16-1 shot Orchestrated – but fortunately was said to be ‘awake and alert’ by the time the helicopter arrived.

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Brooke hit the turf face-first in this devastating fall[/caption]

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The horse went upside-down and Brooke was left on the ground before being treated to by on-course medics[/caption]

Held up behind the leaders, Brooke lost control at the third fence and hit the turf face-first.

Startling photos showed the moment she hit the ground at the Somerset track.

She was said to be ‘awake and alert’ by the time on-course medics were on hand to treat her.

TV footage on Racing TV showed the air ambulance circling overhead before landing to take her to Bristol Hospital.

Reporter Alex Steedman said: “I’m told she is awake and alert.

“She was in communication it is just a case of what sort of physical condition she is in.”

He added that she ‘faceplanted’ the floor – extra painful on ground that was described as good to firm.

The incident caused a delay to the final race of the day, the 5.30pm.

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Brooke was said to be awake and alert after her fall but was taken to hospital in an air ambulance[/caption]

Fortunately, Orchestrated, trained by Lady Susan Brooke, got to his feet and looked OK.

Racing fans took to Twitter to send her their best wishes.

One said: “Looked a heavy fall to her head. I really hope she’s OK. Fingers crossed Lorna. Hope she gets to hospital ASAP and given the all clear.”

Another posted: “Oh no, really hope Lorna is OK. Good to hear she is awake and alert though.”

Brooke’s almighty scares comes after fellow jockey Aidan MacDonald was recently rushed to hospital.

He suffered a bleed on his neck two weeks after a nasty incident at Hexham racecourse.

But he has been making steady progress since and appears to fortunately be on the mend.