Jamie Osborne faces up to six weeks out of action after breaking his wrist in a crashing fall at Cheltenham yesterday. The hero of Saturday's Murphy's Gold Cup on Senor El Betrutti, was literally brought down to earth when thrown from Space Trucker during the Mitsubishi Shogun November Novices' Chase.
The Champion Hurdle third, making his chasing debut, could not match Senor El Betrutti as he blundered into the fourth last fence, propelling Osborne out of the saddle.
The jockey lay clutching his left arm for several minutes and was given oxygen before he was stretchered into a waiting ambulance. "The horse is fine but I just feel sorry for Jamie," lamented Space Trucker's trainer Jessica Harrington. "He has a broken wrist."
The £20,000 novice event went to Queen Of Spades, who fought back well under Carl Llewellyn to edge out Direct Route by a neck.
The drama continued in the feature Murphy's Draughtflow Hurdle when four came down at the first flight, including Welsh Mill who broke a leg and had to be put down. Mr Percy landed the £22,000 first prize by four lengths from Cadougold. Ladbrokes were offering the best price, 25 to 1, for next year's Triumph Hurdle after The French Furze won his second race for Martin Pipe in impressive style from Keeping The Faith.
Tidal Force completed a fourtimer with a half length beating of Song Of The Sword in the opening race. The favourite, Bramblehill Duke, could manage only fourth and his jockey Adrian Maguire immediately gave up his remaining rides complaining of flu.
But Spendid kept up the David Nicholson strike rate when becoming the trainer's 19th winner in a fortnight in the Maneline Solocomb Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle.
"Adrian has been suffering for the last couple of days but the winners have carried him through. But he decided he couldn't go on after the first today," said Nicholson's wife Dinah.
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