Jockey Sean Bowen 'millimetres from having skull crushed' in horrific fall live on Sky Sports

Jockey Sean Bowen had a lucky escape when he suffered a horrific fall on day one of the Chester May Festival.

The 26-year-old entered a Class 5 mares' handicap hurdle with Princess Unique on Wednesday evening, but he struggled to maintain control.

Princess Unique quickly took the lead in the 2m3f contest, but things went wrong just before the first flight.

The maiden - returning after a 233-day break - jinked ahead of the hurdle before veering sharply to the left.

The movements catapulted Bowen out of his saddle and over the jump, slamming him to the turf and turning him onto his back.

The jockey was in real trouble as he lay helpless as the rest of the pack jumped the fence and landed all around him.

Hey Day Baby galloped straight over him, with the horse's right front hoof clipping the bill of his cap while her right trail leg almost struck him.

Somehow Bowen escaped unhurt, but as former Grand National winner Mick Fitzgerald admitted while commentating on Sky Sports Racing, the horse was "literally millimetres away from crushing his skull."

After losing her jockey, Princess Unique kept running with the field and later forced another rider to unseat.

With Brendan Powell making a move to overtake the 5-1 Jamaicaine while approaching the second from home, Princess Unique cut across and the jockeys' right side and completely took out Jamaicaine.

Powell hit the deck, but luckily he was out of the way of the two runners coming up behind.

Hidden Law was not so lucky. After storming to victory in the Chester Vase, he went down just yards after passing the post and had to be put down.

That none of the riders were hurt in either incident is a miracle, and a stark reminder of the risks jockeys take every time they saddle up.