Eoin Walsh facing three months out after breaking his back in horror fall

Flat jockey Eoin Walsh is facing up to three months out of the saddle after breaking two bones in his back in a horror fall at Chelmsford on Monday evening.

The rider's very first outing in the all blue of Godolphin, aboard the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Nation's Beauty, came to an abrupt end in the opening 1m2f novice when the filly broke a leg and was fatally injured on the home turn.

Walsh was deposited head first into the artificial surface as a result of the fall, which also brought down Ryan Tate, who was following on the Robyn Brisland-trained outsider Norwegian Red.

Walsh was taken to Broomfields Hospital in Chelmsford and kept in overnight after the incident, but the 26-year-old is hoping to be allowed back home to Newmarket later on Tuesday.

He said: "Unfortunately I've done [broken] my T6 and T7 vertebrae, and my right elbow has come up like a balloon. My face is also pretty bashed up, which is no surprise as I hit the ground quite hard. They say I could be out for two to three months, but I'm not complaining as it could have been so much worse."

Of the incident, which occurred three furlongs out in a race won by odds-on favourite Tarroob, Walsh said: "It all happened so quick as she went down immediately and I was knocked out for a while.

"It was frustrating as it was my first ride for Godolphin and I was going well at the time. I'm not saying I was definitely going to win, but I would have given Tarroob plenty to think about."

Before his fall, Walsh had been on target to beat his previous best annual tally of 21 winners. He said: "I had 19, plus one bumper win, to my name and it had been going well thanks to Roger Varian, who I ride out for. Maybe I can try again next year."

Tate, who walked away after being unshipped from Norwegian Red, took himself to hospital on Tuesday morning and is facing a short spell on the sidelines after x-rays revealed a fracture to a small bone in his ankle.

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