JOCKEY Tony McCoy was taken to York Hospital after being kicked in the face by his mount at Wetherby Racecourse.

The 17-time champion parted company with Mr Watson shortly before the start of the Wetherby Racecourse & Conference Centre Novices’ Hurdle – the first race of the track’s two-day Charlie Hall meeting.

The five-year-old, trained by Jonjo O’Neill, had been backed in from 2-1 to be a 6-5 clear favourite for the two-and-a-half mile contest.

But he was keen going down and, at the post, dropped McCoy and appeared to strike the rider while he was on the ground.

Sitting on the turf for a couple of minutes, McCoy eventually rose and walked into an ambulance with blood streaming from his face.

He was stood down for the rest of the meeting and then referred to hospital.

“That’s what he said,” chief executive Jonjo Sanderson said when asked if McCoy had been kicked by Mr Watson.

“He believed he was kicked in the face.

“It all happened really quickly but, from the way he looked, I would suggest he got a kick.”

The race was won by African Gold (2-1 favourite), trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies and ridden by his son, Sam, who swept past the all-the-way leader Beeves after the final flight in a length-and-a-half success.

McCoy had been due to ride Hilali in the Listed Weatherbys Hamilton Insurance Wensleydale Juvenile Hurdle, but trainer Gary Brown withdrew the horse shortly after McCoy was taken to hospital.

That left the way clear for Sametegal, the 1-2 favourite, to advertise his talents in an eight-length stroll to victory over Flashman in the £15,000 race.

The Paul Nicholls-trained gelding looks like he could be a smart new recruit to the hurdling ranks.

Jockey Ruby Walsh said of the three-year-old: “He did it well. He kept on well, even though he was a little bit green.”

Earlier, Bless The Wings (11-4 fav) wore down a brave Gansey to win the Listed bet365 Chase.

The two-and-a-half mile contest came down to a duel between the two at the last fence and, after jumping it together, it was the former, trained by Alan King and ridden by Wayne Hutchinson, who stretched out after the flight to win by two-and-a-half lengths.

“He travelled really well,” said Hutchinson of the seven-year-old.

Elsewhere, Sporting Boy (9-4 fav) was a runaway winner of the bet365.com Handicap Hurdle, while Roi De Garde (9-2) was an equally easy victor in the Donaldson Timber Engineering Chase over three miles and one furlong.

And Shaun Dobbin will always remember the final Book Tickets Online At wetherbyracing.co.uk Conditional Jockeys’ Novices’ Hurdle.

The 10lb claimer led Purcell’s Bridge (10-1) to success in the two-and-three-quarter mile race in his first ride under rules – seven lengths separating him and runner-up High Kite.