TOP jockey Harry Cobden has been ruled out for the rest of the season after breaking his cheekbone in a horror fall at Aintree on Saturday.
The rider, who is currently third in the jockeys’ standings behind defending champ Brian Hughes and odds-on favourite Harry Skelton, will undergo surgery later this week.
He has enjoyed plenty of big-race success for his boss Paul Nicholls this winter, winning Grade 1s on Bravemansgame, Clan Des Obeaux and Monmiral.
And he had an outside chance of winning a first jockeys’ title going into the final two weeks of the season, albeit he was a longshot being 14 winners behind Hughes with 11 days to go.
But he announced on Twitter that he would miss the remainder of the 2020-21 campaign – and wished his title rivals luck on the run-in.
He said: “Hi everyone, I wanted to give you all an update on my injury from my fall at Aintree on Saturday.
“I went for further scans yesterday, and unfortuately, they have shown that I have got a couple of fractures in my right cheekbone.
“I am having an operation on Thursday, but I am out for the rest of the season (likely to be six weeks).
“Good luck to both Brian and Harry in the Champion Jump Jockey title race. I look forward to hopefully challenging you both again next season and I hope that next season also welcomes people back onto racecourses.”
Skelton, who has 136 winners, is the 4-9 favourite with Betfair for a first jockeys’ title and is currently one winner behind Hughes, who is 13-8 to defend his crown.
Cobden was knocked out in Saturday’s horror fall aboard Lucky One, and he was helped into a nearby ambulance by fellow jockey Jonjo O’Neill Jr.
He was forced to miss his ride on Give Me A Copper in the Grand National as a result, but the horse never figured and was pulled up.
Nicholls’ other stable jockey, Bryony Frost, was also taken to hospital after suffering a heavy fall from Yala Enki in the National itself, though the trainer reported she was ‘fine but sore’ on Monday.
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