Newmarket trainer Jeff Pearce suffered serious spinal injuries in an accident that claimed the life of a young woman, it emerged today.
Pearce, 52, was recovering in the Addenbrokes Hospital in Cambridge having sustained the injuries in last night's three-car pile-up.
His condition was described as "stable".
The dead woman, who has not been named, was a passenger in Pearce's Mercedes car.
She received fatal injuries and died at the scene.
They were returning to Pearce's home from an earlier race meeting when the collision occurred on the A1304 near to Six Mile Bottom, Cambs.
Police said the accident happened at 9.35pm last night and involved the Mercedes, a Peugeot 309 and a VW Polo.
The cause of the fatal collision has not yet been established.
The other occupants of the vehicles, a local man and a 30-year-old woman from Oxford, escaped injury.
Pearce, who enjoyed his best season in 1998 with 43 winners, is married to leading lady rider Lydia.
