Horse Racing Drama as Blue Warrior ends up bolting into water
Horse Racing Drama as Blue Warrior ends up bolting into water BLUE Warrior, the horse who turned a seven-furlong maiden into a 100 metres freestyle swimming event at Kempton on Wednesday night, is expected to make a swift and full recovery from his ordeal. The John Best-trained gelding sparked off a chain of dramatic, and potentially tragic, events when he smashed his way out of the starting stalls as he was being loaded for what should have been his racecourse debut. |  |
Still wearing the blindfold that had originally been fitted to make his stalls entry less upsetting for the debutant, a not unnaturally spooked Blue Warrior proceeded to make a sharp left turn, crash through a running rail and then fall before apparently slipping into the lake in the centre of the London track.
After horse-paddling from one side of it to another, a motley crew of would-be rescuers, some of them equipped with ropes and lifebelts, eventually convinced the four-year-old that the freezing waters of early January are not ideal conditions to perfect one's swimming technique and he was persuaded to return to dry land where he was covered with a blanket and led away to be examined by the vets.
Amazingly, Blue Warrior escaped from his nightmare with nothing more serious than a few minor cuts and Best is confident no lasting damage has been done.
"He should recover fairly quickly and I would just like to thank the starter and stalls team for their rescue mission," said the trainer. "I was at home watching while the whole episode unfolded and it seemed to me that everyone acted quickly, efficiently and without any panic."
Following talks with the British Horseracing Authority yesterday, Kempton officials will now try to ensure there is no repeat of what the track's managing director Amy Starkey described as a "freak accident" caused by a number of factors. "I have spoken to the course inspector and that's what he put it down to. It could have happened at any time," she said. "All credit should go to RaceTech, the stalls handlers and the ground staff as most importantly, the horse is now recovering at home."
Whilst a rare occurrence, horses deciding to go for a dip isn't exactly a new phenomenon, Just Jolly having to be rescued by the local fire brigade when he decided to test the waters of the River Severn after getting loose at Worcester a few years ago.
Those with a longer memory will also recall it wasn't unusual for horses who, for whatever reason, had parted company with their jockeys, having to be rescued by boat after venturing into the two rivers that used to flow alongside the now defunct Bogside.
Two punters probably felt like hurling themselves into the river yesterday when they missed out on winning a pay-out of £194,000 each in the Tote Super7 bet in extraordinary circumstances at Taunton.
They had tickets running on Topless in the final leg, but she unseated James Davies yards from the post with the Carlsberg UK Handicap Chase seemingly at his mercy.
Topless made a beeline for the parade ring entrance on the run-in, and as Davies tried to correct her manoeuvre she jinked right and gravity took over. The Lambourn-based rider was then thrown to the ground to leave Pangbourne (9-2) to come home a distance clear of the rest. Davies said: "I'm gutted for everybody involved. "Brendan Powell and Neil Mulholland have been big supporters of mine and that would have been my first winner for Neil.
Agony and ecstasy was also the story of the race on Betfair - a total of seven punters backed the winner at 999-1, and one backer hit the jackpot to the tune of £111,677.07 after getting £111 on at those monster odds. Irish firm Paddy Power promised to pay out on both horses.
Hopefully ecstasy rather than agony will ensue after today's nap Sumarai Warrior runs in the opener at Lingfield.
Original Report By JIM KEAN The Scotsman
Added on: 16/01/09.
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