Mick Channon to undergo surgery after car crash

8:33am Friday 29th August 2008

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By Sian Davies »

SAINTS legend Mick Channon will undergo surgery after he was involved in a crash that claimed the life of his friend.

Channon, 59, and his son Jack, 15, were both injured in the crash after the car they were travelling in along the M1 left the carriageway and ploughed into a tree.

Racing agent and friend of Mr Channon 63-year-old Tim Corby, of East Ilsley, Berkshire, died in the crash.

Mr Channon, a successful race horse trainer, and his son were taken to hospital following the crash that happened on the southbound carriageway just after 4.15pm yesterday.

Both Mick and Jack received treatment for a number of injuries, none of which were thought to be life threatening.

The trainer spent the night in intensive care after suffering broken ribs, a broken arm, a fractured jaw and a punctured lung, said son Michael Channon, 33.

He will undergo surgery today to pin bones in his arm and have his jaw wired.

Jack Channon was left ''battered and bruised'' but was not seriously injured. He is undergoing medical checks as a precaution, his brother said.

Michael Channon, a video producer, said: ''We have been petrified and worried and absolutely out of our wits worrying about our own family. But as for the Corbys, our hearts really go out to them.

''Tim was a friend of Mick's for over 30 years. He was a renowned figure in the racing scene who was universally popular in the industry and he will be sorely missed by the residents of East and West Ilsley, all of his many friends, and most of all the Corby family.'' Mr Channon said Mr Corby leaves wife Sheila and daughter Adriana.

He added: ''Mick is conscious and able to talk from his hospital bed and he's absolutely devastated at the loss of Tim.

''His heart goes out to Sheila and Adriana.'' The party were on their way back from the Doncaster sales when the crash happened.

News of the crash has been greeted with shock by the footballing and horse racing community alike.

A spokesman for Southampton Football Club where Channon made his name said: "This is clearly very upsetting news and our thoughts are with the family of Mick and the other people in the car."

A spokesman for his stables at Newbury confirmed that Mick was in a stable condition. "He is fine, and he will be fine. He is not in a critical condition but is stable. He was on his way back from the sales in Doncaster when I understand the accident happened.

"Jack his youngest son was with him and both were injured but they will both be fine."

Born in Wiltshire Channon made a name for himself as a teenager at Southampton Football Club.

He debuted in 1966 as a 17-year-old left Southampton for Manchester City in 1977 but returned to the Dell two years later, leaving again in 1982 for Newcastle.

He then went on to play for Bristol Rovers and Norwich before returning from football in 1986. During his time at Saints be became the clubs all time record goalscorer with 277 goals.

During that time he won 46 caps for England and scored 21 international goals.

His popularity led him to be featured on This Is Your Life in 2001.

He became a fully-licensed trainer in 1990. He started with 10 horses at a yard in Lanbourn but moved in 1999 to the west Ilsley in Newbury - once owned by the Queen.

In 2002 he topped the 100-winner mark for the first time ending the season with 123 winners. He regularly records over 100 winners per season but victory in one of horse racing's Classic races still eludes him.

Among owners who have had their horses with Channon are old colleagues and friends from his footballing days including Kevin Keegan, Sir Alex Ferguson and the late Alan Ball.

TRIBUTES have been paid to Tim Corby who was well respected and liked in the racing industry.

Gavin Pritchard-Gordon - a trainer for 24 years, executive chairman of British Bloodstock Marketing and a long-time friend of Mr Corby - said: "Tim Corby has been a life-long and hugely enthusiastic supporter of our sport and epitomised everything that is fun and positive about it.

"Win or lose, he greeted all and sundry with a smile and a quip from his infectious sense of humour, and furthermore was a very shrewd and successful judge of horses."

Jockey Tony Culhane has ridden a number of Channon-trained horses and was also a close friend of Mr Corby called him "an all round good horseman".

Trainer George Margarson, who knew Mr Corby for nearly 30 years, said: "It's terrible, it's not sunk in yet."

One of Mr Corby's biggest successes as an owner came under the Box 41 banner, when Halicarnassus won the Rose Of Lancaster Stakes at Haydock last year.