Jockey Jay Ford suffers head knock in race day fall

Jockey Jay Ford has been lucky to escape serious injury following a heavy race day fall at Canterbury in which his foot appeared to slip from the stirrup.

Ford was riding the Joe Pride-trained Investment in the fourth race on Wednesday and was towards the rear of the field when he became dislodged approaching the home turn.

The experienced hoop was conscious and talking to attending paramedics before being transported to hospital for further assessment.

“It’s a head knock and an injury to his left knee,” senior steward Steve Railton said.

“It might only be soft tissue but they will determine that.”

Ford has been booked for six rides at Randwick on Saturday, including last start winner Hasty Honey in the Midway Handicap (1600m).

Earlier in the day, Peter Snowden produced another smart late season winner in debutante Infusion.

A daughter of I Am Invincible, Infusion was an $850,000 Magic Millions yearling and while she had taken time to get to the races, Snowden was hopeful she had a bright future.

“Cracking type. She has been a bit slow to get there, a bit immature,” Snowden said.

“She has got a lot to learn. She is still very raw but she has got talent, that’s the main thing.

“You can always do things when they’ve got talent.”

The three-year-old’s win in Wednesday’s Ranvet Handicap (1100m) followed the impressive victory by her juvenile barn mate Raging Force at Rosehill on Saturday.

Snowden said both horses had been lessons in patience but he hoped their emergence augured well for the upcoming season.

“There are a lot of young horses coming through now, which is good. Horses we have always liked but they’ve taken a while to get here,” he said.

“They all had little issues along the way.

“Sometimes giving them time is a good thing, not a bad thing. You’re not missing out on anything because they’re not going to get there anyway but given time you might resurrect something and that has been the case.”