William Buick title bid hit by bizarre hat-trick of withdrawals at Wolverhampton

William Buick's pursuit of Oisin Murphy in the jockeys' championship took a bizarre turn on Monday when three of his intended mounts at Wolverhampton were forced to be withdrawn at the start in the space of an hour.

Buick, who began the day 9-4 with Paddy Power to land the championship following a productive weekend when he rode four winners, made the perfect possible start at Dunstall Park by landing the opening 5f nursery handicap aboard the George Boughey-trained Pocket The Profit.

That temporarily closed the gap to just five, with seven well-fancied rides still to come, but what followed was a freak flurry of withdrawals that could hardly have come at a worse time with the championship concluding at Ascot on Saturday.

Buick had already endured the disappointment of 100-30 favourite Amalfi Bay beating just one rival on his second ride of the day before the Roger Varian-trained Poet bolted on his way to the start of the 6f nursery handicap, the third of Buick's intended rides of the day.

Buick still had a number of well-fancied chances to go, with Twilight Secret up next in the 6f handicap, but the jockey was left visibly frustrated when he was informed at the start that the James Tate-trained three-year-old, who was 9-4 favourite at the time, would have to be withdrawn on veterinary advice.

If Buick was cursing his luck then things were to get even worse as the unique hat-trick of withdrawals was completed when the Martyn Meade-trained Infrared, who had been trading at odds-on for a first career success in the 6f handicap, was withdrawn 15 minutes before the start of the 6f novice stakes, once again on veterinary advice.

A day that started so promisingly and prompted bookmakers to cut the title contender to 7-4 following the opener, had turned sour with Buick's full book of eight rides reduced to five through no fault of his own. Buick's unwanted treble was then followed by another, as he finished second on each of his remaining rides: Pretty Sweet, the odds-on Toromona and One Last Dance.

Murphy would no doubt be observing his rival's tumultuous day with interest ahead of Kempton on Monday evening where he won on one of his six mounts to increase the lead back to six.

The title-chasing pair both travel to Leicester on Tuesday, with Buick once again jocked up for a full book of eight rides barring no repeat of the unprecedented events at Wolverhampton, while Murphy has a quieter day of four rides in store.

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