Grand National winning jockey Ryan Mania was today airlifted to hospital after a fall in a race at Hexham, only a day after his victory at Aintree.
The Scotsman, who steered Auroras Encore to a famous 66-1 success, was linking up once again with trainer Sue Smith in the St John Lee Handicap Hurdle.
However, his mount Stagecoach Jasper came down early on the final circuit.
Some 25 minutes after the race, the 23-year-old Mania was still being attended to on the track by medics. With the covers up, there was a delay to racing following the arrival of the air ambulance.
Mania was riding at Hexham just hours after posing for photographs with Auroras Encore at his stables in West Yorkshire.
The jockey had to leave the photocall at Mrs Smith's stables near Bingley before the horse's traditional trip to the local pub in order to get to the Hexham meeting on time.
According to some reports Mania suffered a heavy kick to his shoulder when his horse fell in the 3.10 race.
TV's face of racing Clare Balding tweeted: "The highs & lows of jump racing - Ryan Mania wins the National yesterday, now being air lifted to hospital after a heavy fall at Hexham."
She added: "Hope Ryan Mania is ok. Jump jockeys are the toughest of the tough. He's on his way to hospital in Newcastle."
