Jockey Dean Yendall faces a stint on the sidelines following a fall at Terang that has left him nursing a fracture to his C3 vertebrae.
Yendall was flown from Warrnambool to Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital on Monday night to undergo further scans on Tuesday to determine if he requires surgery.
“He has a stable fracture of his C3 and as I understand it, they will probably do more scans there today to confirm that it is stable and does not require surgery,” Victorian Jockeys’ Association chief executive Matt Hyland said.
“He was airlifted to the Alfred last night and he’s conscious and moving so there are no issues on that front, but he has a neck injury.
“Hopefully he won’t need surgery, but he’ll be facing a period on the sidelines.”
Yendall was riding Saintly Rose in a 1600m Maiden on Monday when the mare ducked in abruptly when struck with the whip inside the final 100m.
The pair were being hailed as the winner when the incident occurred.
Yendall’s wife, Christine Puls, who rode earlier on Monday’s Terang program, stood down from her final ride following Yendall’s fall.