Drama at Chelmsford with jockeys forced to take evasive action after stalls left stranded on track

The final contest at Chelmsford on Saturday evening was the scene of high drama as a stalls incident resulted in a void race. 

The nine-runner field in the 1m2f handicap broke from the gates without issue but it became apparent there was a problem when officials attempted to flag the jockeys down rounding the home turn.

The pack were negotiating the bend at around 36mph but had to abruptly pull up to avoid the stalls, which were left stranded on the track at the entrance to the home straight. 

Jane Chapple-Hyam, who trained the 11-4 joint-favourite Salamanca, said: "When they load horses up in the stalls they turn the tractor off and I believe when the horses left the stalls the tractor wouldn't go into gear, so they couldn't get it off the track. They didn't have enough time to send the flagmen to the back straight. It was quite scary."

Salamanca was leading the pack under Jonny Peate, who relied on warnings from his fellow jockeys to pull up as soon as possible. All horses and riders were unharmed.

He said: "It was a normal mile and a quarter race at Chelmsford and we were halfway around the bend and we're on decent animals, so we were going a very strong gallop and just picking them up through the gears.

"As a rider you're not looking that far ahead of you and Ali Rawlinson [on Penzance] on my girths heard a bit of shouting. He turned to me and he was shouting, 'woah, woah'. 

"I looked up further into the distance than you usually would when riding and I could see that at that point [the stalls remained on the track], it was pretty late on in the piece, we had to fairly slam the brakes on.

"Kieran O'Shea, the starter, ran a good bit towards us, so he made a big difference. I think if he hadn't done, alongside a few other stall handlers, then it could have been even more dangerous because the stalls are only just after they straighten up.

"We're very lucky that everyone's come out of it unscathed."

How the incident unfolded

Runners break from the stalls in the 8.30 at ChelmsfordCredit: Racing TV

Jockeys begin to ask their mounts to quicken approaching the turn for homeCredit: Racing TV

A flagman alerts the jockeys to the stalls issue Credit: Racing TV

The runners are still travelling at speed as the stalls come into viewCredit: Racing TV

Jockeys try to pull up their mounts in time to avoid the stallsCredit: Racing TV

The field begins to slow down yards from the stallsCredit: Racing TV

Horses come to a halt and the race is voidedCredit: Racing TV

A statement from the racecourse read: "Chelmsford City racecourse apologises to all of the connections, participants, spectators and bettors affected by the events of race nine at this evening's meeting. 

"The safety of our participants is, and always will be, our top priority. We are deeply relieved that no harm came to any of the jockeys, horses or staff involved. This evening's incident is unprecedented in Chelmsford's ten years of racing and although the racecourse was not directly responsible for what occurred, we fully acknowledge our role as the racecourse staging the fixture.

"We are committed to working with the BHA and our partners to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure that events of this nature do not happen again. Forms of reimbursements will be arranged for affected connections and they will be contacted with further information." 

Jockeys Billy Loughnane and Harry Davies, who rode Wadacre Gomez and Intricacy respectively, were interviewed in the stewards' inquiry.

The report read: "An enquiry was held into the stop flag being deployed in the closing stages of this race, as the stalls were unable to be removed from the course. 

"Attending the enquiry was the director of racing, the clerk of the course and trainee clerk of the course, both starters, jockeys Billy Loughnane and Harry Davies, the stalls team leader and the tractor driver. 

"As all the runners had pulled up and the judge was unable to declare a result, the race was declared void and a report was forwarded to the head office of the BHA."

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