Racing: Farrell injured as mount collapses

Anthea Farrell, the leading amateur rider and former partner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Jodami suffered head and hip injuries yesterday when a horse she was riding at the Great Yorkshire Show collapsed and died.

Farrell, daughter of Jodami's trainer, Peter Beaumont, was reported to be in a comfortable condition in Harrogate General Hospital last night.

Farrell suffered her injuries as she was riding the 12-year-old chaser Choctaw. "The horse collapsed on top of her," a spokesman at the showground said. "He had a heart attack or suffered a brain haemorrhage and died a few minutes later."

Ray Cochrane, out of action since suffering a dislocated shoulder in a fall at Taby racecourse in Sweden on 4 June, will make his return to race-riding at York on Friday.

Having been ruled out of the Derby meeting, Cochrane had initially hoped to make his comeback as soon as Royal Ascot. But the jockey's injury took longer than expected to heal, and he decided last week to sit out the Eclipse meeting.

France's Anabaa was well backed yesterday for Thursday's July Cup and is now 3-1 from 4-1 with William Hill who eased Pivotal from 6-4 to 7- 4.