Racing: Cameron back in saddle

Capella had a super run at Te Rapa despite being ridden too far back. Photo / Trish Dunell

Matt Cameron will make a stunning return to riding after a sickening fall with a round to travel in the first race at Matamata on Sunday.

Last season's champion jockey was knocked unconscious and flopped end-to-end several times before ending up under the running rail, just 24 hours after a brilliant win on outstanding three-year-old Xtrav-agant at Te Rapa.

No level of injury was too high to imagine after Sunday's tumble. Remarkably, Cameron will today apply to obtain a clearance to allow him to ride at Riccarton on Friday.

Until recently, New Zealand racing had an automatic three-week stand down for jockeys suffering concussion.

Now jockeys undergo a cognitive test.

Co-chief stipendiary steward for the Racing Integrity Unit, Ross Neal, said: "Each jockey has a baseline cognitive test lodged with the RIU.

"The science around concussion has improved enormously and now if a jockey is concussed they must go to their doctor who will test for obvious cognitive signs like slurring of speech and the like," he told the Herald yesterday.

"If that doctor provides a pass mark, the jockey is seen by the RIU medical director who makes the call how close the cognitive test is to the one stored in the racing files.

"If it's close, a clearance will result," said Neal.

In many sports such as rugby and league, competitors will undergo cognitive tests during a match and, if passed clear, can resume play.

"We take a much more cautious approach to that," said Neal.