WALTER SWINBURN was yesterday still Unconscious in the intensive care unit of a Hong Kong hospital after being violently thrown from his horse at the start of a race.
The 34 year old jockey's father, Wally, flew out to Hong Kong yesterday evening to be by his son's bedside.
A spokeswoman for the Prince of Wales Hospital described his condition as "poor", but his injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
Swinburn's family has not yet been told when they can expect him to regain consciousness or when he will be fit to ride again.
His anxious mother, Doreen, said "When he will be racing again is the least of our concerns. It is very worrying to know that he is still Unconscious.
"He had a nasty fall and has broken some ribs and a collar bone and had a bang on the head. He is in intensive care, and we just have to sit and wait. The people over there are very good and they are keeping us well informed."
The fall came as Swinburn was riding Liffey River for trainer John Moore in the Albert Plate at Sha Tin. He fell over the neck of the horse when it struck a railing shortly after the start of a six furlong race.
It was Swinburn's last day's riding before the local break for the Chinese New Year. He was due to go to Dubai next month but was expected to ride in Hong Kong until the end of February.
Swinburn is a great fan of racing in Hong Kong. In 1993 he said There is nowhere quite like it for general excitement, the pace and vibrancy of every day life.
"Racing is such an incredible part of life here. Everybody seems to be in love with it. It is a unique place in every way."
But Sha Tin became notorious in Europe after two bad falls in 1984. An incident there in February saw French jockey Philipe Paquet sustain career ending injuries.
And in December, Brian Taylor, who won the Derby on Snow Knight in 1974, was killed in a fall on the track.
Swinburn, 34, has been one of Britain's leading Flat jockeys in the past 15 years. As well as his Epsom triumphs on Shergar at the age of 19 in 1981 Shahrastani and Lammtarra, he also landed the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on All Along in 1983.
But he missed a second Arc win last year when he was controversially replaced by Frankie Dettori on Lammtarra after his Derby victory on a colt formerly trained by close friend, the murdered Alex Scott.
Swinburn also subsequently ended his retainer to ride for Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum.
