Top local jockey Eddie Lai Wai-ming spent last night in St Mary's Hospital in a stable condition after a dramatic fall in the seventh race at Happy Valley that cast a pall over an otherwise successful International Jockeys Championship.
Lai sustained cuts and bruising to his forehead, and to his right arm, particularly his wrist. Lai did not appear to have sustained any broken bones, but would be X-rayed overnight as a precaution. As the field thundered to the winning post with a lap to go, there was pressure from the outside and Lai, on Carrizo Creek, simply ran out of racing room. The John Moore-trained galloper clipped heels and gave Lai a very heavy fall. Lai lay unconscious on the turf as ambulance officers rushed to his aid. He regained consciousness after a minute or so, and was loaded on to a stretcher and carried to the ambulance.
