Uttoxeter forced to abandon two races after long delay caused by stricken horse

Thursday: Uttoxeter

Uttoxeter's seven-race evening card was heavily disrupted after an incident with a faller in the second contest caused a 105-minute delay and forced the final two races of the meeting to be abandoned.

The 6-4 favourite Butler's Brief fell at the fourth-last in the 3m novice handicap chase, with the Alastair Ralph-trained seven-year-old subsequently running loose and becoming trapped in the third-last fence.

Vets were required to sedate Butler's Brief and the third race, which had been due off at 6.35pm, was delayed while he was safely removed and transported away from the ditch.

The action did not get back underway until 8.20pm with officials initially planning to stage four of the five remaining races with the closing bumper abandoned.

But after Al Roc won the heavily delayed 2m4f handicap chase, the penultimate 2m4f handicap hurdle was also shelved with time and daylight running out.

The racecourse confirmed via its twitter account that connections of the horses who missed out as well as racegoers would be contacted on Friday morning in response to the reduced card.

Results, replays and analysis

Head over to our dedicated Royal Ascot 2022 site for the latest tips and odds for every race at the festival. Our leading horseracing tipsters share their Royal Ascot tips and predictions and it's completely free!