Capeland owner still reeling after Ascot disqualification

Capeland's owner has spoken about the shock of seeing her chaser being barged off the course at the final fence and dramatically disqualified in the Listed 2m1f handicap chase at Ascot on Saturday.

The Paul Nicholls-trained seven-year-old was contesting the lead and clear of the rest when pushed between the fence and its plastic wing by stablemate Diego Du Charmil.

While the stewards confirmed Diego Du Charmil the winner after a lengthy inquiry, they disqualified Capeland after he had finished fifth.

He runs in the navy and pink silks of Cheltenham Festival-winning owner Kathy Stuart, who said on Sunday: "It was unbelievable. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.

Kathy Stuart: 'I was really upset'Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

"I was really upset. More so for him, he's had his issues as a young horse and last year we had a cracking year with him and we were hoping he could improve again this year. He was in the process of running the best race he'd ever run."

Capeland began last season off a mark of 127 but improved significantly once sent chasing and won three times over fences last winter, resulting in him racing off 143 on Saturday.

Prior to the incident, he had been out of the first four on only two occasions from 19 starts in Britain and the admirable son of Poliglote was in the process of filling the frame again.

Stuart added: "That was almost the worst thing, because we were going to be first or second and suddenly we're fifth and you think, 'Well, okay that's a little bit of prize-money in the pot' - but then you're disqualified for taking the wrong course.

"We were the meat in the sandwich, weren't we?"

Stuart, who was not at Ascot, added: "Well done to [winning owners] Johnny de la Hey and his wife Sam, and Lorcan [Williams, winning rider], I'm delighted for them, but it was not one of the greatest days in my life. However, nobody's died and he's okay."

On whether the stewards made the correct decision, she added: "I didn't know the rules, and I'm not sure they did 100 per cent really until they had a long look at it.

"It seemed the rules are that as long as you jump over the brush at any point then you keep the race. We were put through the wing and couldn't go through the brush."

Capeland is forced through the wing of the fence by stablemate and eventual winner Diego Du CharmilCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Stuart, who enjoyed Cheltenham Festival success in 2015 with Qualando in the Fred Winter, is keen to put the incident down to bad luck and put it behind her.

"I've had horses for a long time and that's the first time anything like that has happened – let's hope it doesn't happen again," she added.

"Fingers crossed he's not lost his mental strength, he's such an honest horse, he tries hard. He's probably not going to be a superstar, but he is for me."

Capeland escaped with nothing more than a small scratch and, although he has an entry in the BetVictor Gold Cup at Cheltenham on November 16, he also has the option of returning to Ascot for compensation at the next fixture on November 22-23.

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