Trial return to Cessnock track abandoned after jockey Amelia Denby injured in fall

Denby hit the turf when Kris Lees-trained Tawfiq Lass fell head first after appearing to lose its footing shortly after crossing the line in third place in heat two of a scheduled 12.

Denby, who works for Lees, was conscious but had pain in her left collarbone and arm. She was taken to John Hunter Hospital by ambulance and the remaining trials were rescheduled to Newcastle on Friday. Racing NSW later confirmed Denby had a broken collarbone and would require surgery next week.

"First thoughts when I saw it were that it could have been worse," Lees said.

He said Tawfiq Lass was fine and it was uncertain what caused the fall.

The trials, transferred from Gosford, were the first held at Cessnock since it come under the ownership of Racing NSW, who took it over from Newcastle Jockey Club with a view to developing the site into a pre-training facility. The troublesome track had not held a meeting or trials since June 2020.

Lees said moving the remain trials was a smart decision given the uncertainty over the track, the departure of the ambulance and the ability to reschedule to Newcastle.

"The horse just knuckled and that can happen on any track, but it was unfortunate timing," he said.

"It could have been one of those things, but we haven't used the track for two years. We've walked the track where it was and it seemed OK. [But] we couldn't say it wasn't the track. I spoke to Amelia and she wasn't sure herself, so they've erred on the side of caution."

"Racing NSW is in charge of the track, so they can assess it and hopefully we get back to using it."

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