Jockey Sarah Borg, who was injured during a race earlier this month, is slowly improving and when she emerged from her induced coma she asked about the horse she was riding, her father said.

"She remembers the race because, from all her horses, she asked for that particular one," Joseph Borg said.

The young woman, considered one of Malta's best female jockeys, has five horses. Ms Borg, the daughter of former Maltasong chairman Grace Borg, fell from her mare, Silence Caresse, during an afternoon race on February 1. Witnesses said she did not move after the fall and was suffering a head trauma.

Sounding positive, Mr Borg said Silence Caresse was his daughter's newest horse: "The horse was not feeling well the week before, so Sarah did not have much time to train racing her".

Mr Borg said his daughter was released from intensive care last week and has since been recovering at Mater Dei Hospital's Neurosurgical Ward.

"Her situation has improved reasonably," he said. She was breathing normally without any help and was not even on drips. Although she can move the left part of her body normally, she still finds it somewhat tough to move the right part due to the injury to the left part of her head.

"She is well on the way to recovery although we are in for the long haul," he said. Mr Borg said the family was happy with how she was doing, especially since they initially feared the worst.

He said it was now a question of waiting to see how the recovery proceeded, although the fact that Ms Borg was young and in good shape should help her.