McCoy suffers suspected broken cheekbone

Tony McCoy suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone as he endured a day he will want to forget at Plumpton today.

Having arrived at the course with high hopes of success from his six fancied rides, he endured two bone-crunching falls, the second of which left him with a trip to hospital after he was kicked in the face.

Having already hit the deck when falling from Tanterari in the Whippers Delight Novices’ Chase, he suffered the same fate when Polar Red crashed out at the second fence in the Tyser Insurance Ltd Novices’ Chase.

After being seen by racecourse medical officer Lucy Free, he was sent to the nearby Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath for X-rays.

“He has just left for X-rays on what I would suspect is a fractured left cheekbone,” said Free.

McCoy was already due to sit out the action tomorrow with a one-day suspension for a whip offence picked up at Hereford earlier in the month.

How soon he can return will depend on the seriousness of the suspected fracture, with the potential for a lay-off of just days or much longer.

Although he is unlikely to miss Cheltenham, the injury could make the jockeys’ championship more interesting, with Richard Johnson just seven winners in arrears at present.

By the time McCoy gave up his ride in the last, punters who had come to the course to back all his mounts had already left for home with empty pockets.

Biggest disappointment was Smurfit Champion Hurdle entry Flying Wanda, who came to the racecourse as potentially the classiest horse on show, having top-notch Flat form to her credit.

But her debut over jumps did not go to plan as, despite travelling strongly under McCoy, she faded in the final stages of the Jonathan Higgins 50th Birthday Mares’ Only Novices’ Hurdle to finish well beaten behind 16-1 shot Lady Harriet.