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Jockey Michelle Payne Flown For Further Tests After Race Fall

500kg horse + 60kph speeds = potential for injury.
Jockey Michelle Payne tweeted a picture of her injured abdomen, pointing out this happened through a protective vest.
Michelle Payne/Twitter
Jockey Michelle Payne tweeted a picture of her injured abdomen, pointing out this happened through a protective vest.

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne has been flown to hospital after falling at a Mildura race meet, where she is expected to have tests on her liver and pancreas.

Payne fell from Dutch Courage, a horse trained by her brother Patrick, during the race meet and was attended by paramedics at the scene, the ABC reported.

Complaining of severe abdominal pain, she was flown to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne for further tests.

Patrick Payne told the Herald Sun his sister was conscious after the fall, but it took her "a little while to come good".

"I think when she came off she tried to hang on for too long and landed underneath it," he told the newspaper.

Head of the Victorian Jockeys' Association Des O'Keeffe told the ABC incidents such as this showed what a 'dangerous pursuit' jockeys engaged in.

"They are riding 500kg animals at 60 kph in a field, it is always going to be a dangerous job, but it's as safe as can be -- they wear vests, they wear safety helmets," he said.

"Unfortunately it's part and parcel of what is a really rewarding, at times, but also an extremely dangerous pursuit," he said.

Race stewards have opened an investigation into the incident.

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