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Ballarat-based trainer Nigel Blackiston is recovering in hospital after a horse he was riding collapsed at trackwork while cantering a horse on the inside sand.
. Blackiston's wife Susanna said the horse he was working with suddenly collapsed, dying after crashing through a rail and landing on top of Blackiston.
She said his injuries include serious concussion and loss of vision in his right eye, as well as broken ribs, a punctured lung and a shoulder injury. Blackiston, who has won nearly 400 races and four Group Ones with the likes of Littorio and Suavito since taking out a licence in 1999.
Blackiston was a long-time Flemington-based trainer after starting his career in Australia as foreman for the late Bart Cummings. He shifted his training base to Ballarat in 2019.
Susanna Blackiston said her husband had been forced to ride a lot more work in recent months due to a severe shortage of track riders mainly as a result of Covid-related international travel restrictions.