'Totally unacceptable' - Windsor vows action after plastic beer cup thrown in direction of winning horse

A plastic cup almost hits Due To Henry and William Buick

Windsor has confirmed an investigation is under way to try to identify the person responsible after a plastic beer cup almost hit Due To Henry in the concluding race on Monday night.

The three-year-old, who was ridden by William Buick, was on the way to winning the 1m2f handicap when a cup was thrown in his direction by an unknown racegoer.

In a statement, the racecourse said: "We are aware of an incident that occurred during racing last night, when an object was thrown in the direction of Due To Henry as he crossed the line in the 8.50, our final race on the card.

"The welfare of horses and jockeys is our number one priority and we as a racecourse find these actions totally unacceptable. We are reviewing the CCTV footage from Monday's meeting, as well as the footage provided to us by our partners Sky Sports Racing and RaceTech, and will impose the appropriate sanctions on anyone found to be involved.

"We are always looking to protect and improve the experience for both participants and fans and we will be reviewing how we prevent incidents like this moving forward.

"Please can anyone who has any information on last night’s misconduct contact info@windsor-racecourse.co.uk."

A spokesperson for the Racecourse Association added: "We are supporting colleagues at Windsor Racecourse and RaceTech and reaffirm their stance that such stupidity and selfishness has no place on a British racecourse."

The BHA has said it is liaising with Windsor and would consider relevant regulatory action if an individual can be identified.

Watch the incident here

Although neither Due To Henry nor Buick were hit by the object, trainer Eve Johnson Houghton expressed her disappointment about the incident and hoped something would be done to find the culprit.

She said: "No harm was done, but harm could be done. It's certainly something that needs to be cracked down on and hopefully the track will do something about it.

"It looks like it was thrown and it's not great to see. We don't want to see it but luckily nothing happened and the horse didn't duck out. Although it was my horse, it's not just my issue, it's a racecourse issue."

It is not the first time an incident like this has happened. In 2017, jockey Andrea Atzeni avoided a similar situation during Royal Ascot when a racegoer threw a pint of beer at him on the way to post for the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes.