Ben Curtis and Rob Hornby sore and bruised but otherwise unscathed

Riders will have short spell on the sidelines after Wolverhampton spill.

Ben Curtis and Rob Hornby face short spells on the sidelines after escaping serious injury in nasty-looking incident at Wolverhampton on Tuesday.

Hornby was unseated from Villanelle about two furlongs from the finish of the Betway Casino Handicap, while Curtis and his mount Fortultous were brought down.

The two riders were treated on track, with Hornby soon sitting up after his spill. Curtis took longer before he thankfully got to his feet and was able to walk unaided to the ambluance.

His wife Shauna came to collect him, with fellow jockeys Ben Robinson and Cam Hardie taking his car home.

“I spoke to Ben this morning. He’s in good spirits considering. He’s going to hospital for scans, but he feels OK,” said his agent Simon Dodds.

“There’s a bit of stiffness in his neck and he has a sore leg, but he’s very lucky and looking forward to coming back as soon as he’s allowed.

“He’s having precautionary scans at the hospital today, but he feels 100 per cent. Obviously he has a red mark on his medical book so he’ll be out for at least six days. All things considered Ben’s really lucky.

“It was great to see him up and walking about after the fall.”

Hornby is expected to be back in action at the weekend.

His agent Nicky Adams said: “He’s having a couple of days just to recoup. He’s a little bit sore and bruised, but otherwise he’s OK.

“He’ll probably be back at the weekend.”

Kieran O’Neil was handed a 12-day suspension by the stewards for careless riding following an inquiry into the incident.

The stewards found O’Neill had allowed his mount to shift left-handed towards the rail when insufficiently clear of Villanelle. That caused the filly to clip heels, stumble and unseat Hornby resulting in Fortultous being brought down with Curtis unshipped.

Both horses ran loose, none the worse.

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