Harney ‘battered and bruised’ after Fakenham fall

David Pipe has delivered a positive update on jockey Gearoid Harney, who was injured in a fall at Fakenham on Sunday.

Harney was riding the Pipe-trained Micronormous in the Sky Bet Queen Boudicca Series Final Mares’ Handicap Chase when she slipped up on a bend, sending him head first to the ground.

The rider was taken to Norfolk and Norwich Hospital for assessment and the final race on the card had to be abandoned due to a lack of sufficient medical cover.

Pipe took to social media to report that Harney should make a full recovery after sufficient rest.

In a post on X, he said: “Thank you for your kind thoughts and wishes for jockey Gearoid Harney. Although he was knocked out and is battered and bruised, he is being allowed out of hospital and will be OK with some rest, these jockeys are made of strong stuff.”

Harney was in the news at Market Rasen on Friday after he mistakenly strayed onto the track during a race while going for a run, before then partnering the biggest winner of his career in the Listed bumper on Pipe’s Kingston Queen.