Payne to miss Group One race

MELBOURNE, Sept 21 AAP - Injuries suffered in a fall at Ararat have ruled Michelle Payne out of Saturday's Group One George Main Stakes in Sydney and she has been replaced by Glyn Schofield on her favourite horse, Yosei.

Payne and fellow rider Daniel Stackhouse were both taken to hospital after separate incidents in a chaotic start to Friday's Victorian country meeting.

Stackhouse suffered severe bruising and was cleared of any fractures at the Ararat Hospital but Payne was found to have minor fractures to the outside of her T5 and T6 vertebrae, mild concussion and a cut lip after assessment at Ballarat Hospital.

She was due to be discharged on Friday night.

Stackhouse's mount Goes Bellisitic flipped over in the barriers before the first race and as he was being transported to hospital, his fellow jockeys agreed to go ahead with just one ambulance on course.

A malfunction in the hydraulic system of the barrier stalls, believed to be caused by the incident involving Goes Bellistic, created a problem with the opening of the gates and a false start was called.

Payne then came off her horse Julinsky during the re-run.

The ambulance that transported Stackhouse returned to the track but with both riders requiring spinal boards, the race meeting was further delayed to allow for another board to be brought to the racecourse.

Payne spent three months on the sidelines after a fall at Donald in May which left her with fractured vertebrae and broken ribs.

She has flagged an end to her riding career within the next year or two and credits triple Group One winner Yosei as the motivation to return this season.