Luke Morris Avoids Serious Injury At Doncaster

Luke Morris Avoids Serious Injury At Doncaster

Flat Jockey Luke Morris is hoping to return to action by the end of this week, after narrowly avoiding a serious injury in the stalls at Doncaster on Saturday night.

The 30-year-old was due to climb aboard Tom Clover's filly Hunni in the ten-furlong handicap on Town Moor, but she was withdrawn before the start after playing up with the stalls handlers.

Nicknamed 'the sniper', Morris was taken to hospital straight after, where he was found to have a bruised and swollen ankle.

(Credit: Racing Post) Luke's agent Neill Allan said: "He [Luke] is resting up at the moment as his foot is bruised and swollen but there are thankfully no breaks.

"He goes for a check up on Thursday but they've told him to have this week off and it may be the end of next week when he's back."

The reigning all-weather champion jockey is anxious, yet eager to return to the frame, with the pinnacle segment on the flat season on the very close horizon.

Attached to trainer Sir Mark Prescott - who could have some runners next week at Epsom across the Derby meeting, Allan confessed that the man who rode Marsha to victory in the 2017 Nunthorpe Stakes is already feeling agitated about missing out on potential winners.

He added: "I rang him yesterday to ask him if his foot was hurting him and he said, 'Yes but not as much as missing riding a winner for Simon Crisford and Michael Tabor at Redcar'!

In his absence, Prescott has called upon the services Josephine Gordon, Daniel Muscutt and Andrew Elliott, who all rode work-pieces early on Tuesday morning.

Prescott was quick to banter his number one retained-rider, since the jockey was given the all-clear that his foot or ankle was not broken.

(Credit: Racing Post) He said: "Luke's so tough that it takes three jockeys to replace him!"

Born in Oxford, Morris has ridden 42 winners since the turn of the year, earning connections nearly £430,000 in prize money.

One of his biggest victories of the campaign so far came aboard Robert Cowell's sprinter Encore D'Or up at Newcastle in January, in a fast-track qualifier on the all-weather.

His weighing room colleague James Sullivan is also targeting a return to the saddle next week, having taken a few days off to recover from a pinched nerve in his lower back at Thirsk recently.