SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE: Clare Balding's dad, 77, breaks 14 ribs and punctures his lung in a riding fall

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Ian Balding (left), who is still riding at the age of 77, has suffered horrific injuries after being thrown from his horse

As ubiquitous TV presenter Clare Balding promotes her first children's book, The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop, she has been given a timely reminder of the dangers of the equestrian world.

Her father, Ian Balding, who is still riding at the age of 77, has suffered horrific injuries after being thrown from his horse.

American-born Ian, who trained racehorses for the Queen and the Queen Mother, is recovering in the high dependency unit at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital after breaking 14 ribs and puncturing his lung in the accident last week.

'He has had surgery and is coming through,' a friend of the family tells me.

Clare declined to comment yesterday. She criticised her father in her bestselling memoir, My Animals And Other Family, which was published to coincide with the 2012 London Olympics, where she was a BBC presenter.

Revealing that her father could recall in fine detail every single moment of his 1971 Derby win with racehorse Mill Reef, Clare added: 'What he will forget to tell you, if you ask him what else happened in 1971, is that I was born . . .'

She also related how he once told her he'd love her more if she were thinner. 'He's horribly fattist,' Clare later said. 'But I love my father. Dad's great. He is what he is. I don't think there's much to forgive in our relationship — apart from when he drinks my bloody gin and tonic.'

After handing over the reins at his Kingsclere stables in Berkshire to Clare's brother, Andrew, in 2003, Ian has continued to ride.

This is his third serious injury in recent years. He was lucky to survive a heavy fall which damaged his neck and back.

Then in 2011 he required emergency surgery after being kicked in the stomach in the paddock at Kempton.

Who's the clown in this circus line-up? 

Is this the real reason Tony Blair closed down the bulk of his multi-million-pound business empire? After insisting he will now focus on charity work, the former prime minister appears to have joined the world’s largest touring circus.

On Sunday night, just hours after absolving himself yet again of blame for the Iraq War, Blair attended a star-studded dinner in Los Angeles following a performance by Cirque du Soleil — and ended up cradling Hollywood blonde bombshell Kate Hudson, 37, in a line-up that included two half-naked male dancers and Rocky star Sylvester Stallone.

Kate Hudson gets a lift from Tony Blair, Sylvester Stallone and two Cirque du Soleil acrobats in Hollywood

Also in attendance at the after-party was Sir Mick Jagger, indebted to Blair for giving him his knighthood.

‘Don’t really know how this happened . . . but it did!’ Hudson captions the picture, in which she wears black trousers and a strap lace top.

Bad news for Jack Straw, who was caught in a cash-for-access lobbying sting. The Labour grandee has now won the support of Jeffrey Archer. ‘Jack is a very decent man with a very distinguished record, particularly in the Home Office,’ says the disgraced Tory peer, who has inside knowledge of the British penal system. Alas, proposals for Straw’s own elevation to the Lords languish at the very bottom of Jeremy Corbyn’s in-tray. 

Spacey has slap-up night in lederhosen 

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is a master of disguise

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is a master of disguise. However, even he struggled to carry off his latest look.

The House Of Cards star swapped his Frank Underwood presidential suit for lederhosen at the Oktoberfest in Munich at the weekend — but looked distinctly ill at ease as he paraded around the annual beer festival.

Perhaps it was the sight of all those busty barmaids dressed in their low-cut dirndls which put him off his stride.

At least, Spacey, 57, who was sporting a flat cap with his traditional Bavarian leather shorts, entered into the spirit of the occasion and enjoyed a frothing stein or two with his male friends.

Signs of Brexit panic at the BBC? The Corporation’s Director- General, Lord Hall, has agreed to review the Beeb’s complaints procedures after a cross-party group of parliamentarians challenged him to name a single programme which has been enthusiastic about Brexit since the EU referendum on June 23 — and Hall was unable to do so! The parliamentarians included Ukip peer Lord Pearson, Labour’s Kate Hoey and Tory Philip Hollobone. Pearson hails Hall’s decision as a significant blow against ‘those at the top of the BBC who wish to see the referendum result reversed’. 

Wedding date with Beatrice 

Lovelorn Princess Beatrice is valiantly coping with her newly single status. After breaking up last month with Dave Clark, her boyfriend of ten years, 28-year-old Beatrice found herself in the company of Victoria’s Secret model Karlie Kloss at a society wedding in the South of France at the weekend.

Princess Beatrice (right)  is pictured at Eden du Cap with supermodel Karlie Kloss

And it seems the lingerie pin-up managed to tear herself away from Taylor Swift long enough to attend the nuptials, between art collector Alberto Mugrabi and Colby Jordan, at the five-star Hotel du Cap in Antibes. Sharing this selfie with Beatrice, Karlie, 24,

Dame Judi still in the swim 

Diagnosed with the incurable eye condition macular degeneration four years ago, Dame Judi Dench has altered her fitness regime so she can keep trim without putting herself at risk.

The 81-year-old Oscar winner (pictured) swims in the pool she has installed at her Surrey home instead of walking or doing any gentle jogging.

A friend tells me: ‘She jokes it’s the only form of exercise she can do on her own now, as she can’t bump into anyone or anything.’