Fakenham races ABANDONED due to unsafe track after disastrous first race

Posted by author October 18, 2024 Horse Racing

FAKENHAM has been ABANDONED after one race due to an unsafe track and the ‘sun being too bright’.

Three jockeys came crashing down in the first with poor Ben Sutton needing help from on-course medics as he limped into an ambulance.

The first race was an out and out disaster with three jockeys being unseated in all

Incredibly a tractor was then out on the course trying to make it safe for racing to continue again

Jockey Harry Cobden lead the chat as riders and trainers inspect the racecourse after a nightmare first race

Punters stream out of Fakenham after the racing was called off - due in part to the blazing sunshine — Punters stream out of Fakenham after the racing was called off – due in part to the blazing sunshine

Racing TV presenter Tom Bull confirmed several jockeys were unhappy with conditions – while a slow-motion tractor sanded the turf in a desperate bid to make it safe again.

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A number of hurdles were omitted in the first due to the blazing sun.

Bull explained the seriousness of the situation while commenting it was basically a result of the ‘sun being too bright’.

He said: “The stewards are holding an enquiry into horses slipping on the bend in the first race.

“The tractor is sanding the track, hopefully it will make a difference but quite a few of the jockeys are unhappy with how quickly the track was riding.

“Three jockeys were unseated in the first contest and it didn’t look the safest in the world.

“Fakenham had three meetings abandoned last year due to rain and now it’s delayed due to the sun being too bright!”

One of the meetings Bull mentioned was called off due to an ‘ambulance getting stuck’.

A BHA stewards statement originally read: “There will be a further delay to racing whilst an inspection takes place to determine whether racing can continue, following reports of horses slipping in the first race.”

But it was later confirmed the meeting was abandoned completely.

Bull said from trackside: “Very disappointing news that the rest of the card has been abandoned.

“Horses were slipping up on the bends, they’ve had a look at the track and said it’s unraceable.

“A massive crowd are here and it’s so unlucky – it’s the sunshine that’s the killer!”

A follow up post from the BHA read: “Following the inspection, racing @FakenhamRC has been abandoned.”

Jockeys Kielan Woods and Alice Stevens both fell at the first in the opening 2m hurdle for novices.

But then Sutton suffered a really nasty incident that left him in a heap when he fell from Ronnies Rules just before the third.

He lay motionless on the turf before thankfully walking off to the trackside ambulance.

Jockeys led by champion Harry Cobden – who won the disastrous first race on James Owen’s evens fav Charging Thunder – and a number of trainers walked the track to inspect it first-hand.

The second race was due off at 2.35pm – but the call to scrap all racing came about 40 minutes later.

Thankfully it appeared all the horses and jockeys in the first were ultimately OK.

Stevens had been on 22-1 Gordon Grey while Woods – who was recently demoted as Ben Pauling’s No1 rider – was riding 80-1 Lord Of The Glance.

David Hunter, clerk of the course at Fakenham, said: “After that first race, despite every possible way of making sure the ground was safe, some jockeys reported their horses had slipped.

“There was an extensive enquiry and the jockeys didn’t have confidence it was safe.

“One has to take their view into account – they’re the people on top of the horses – and it’s just desperate.

“We have done everything to make sure this meeting is fit for purpose and we generally felt it was.

“It’s a tight track, that’s the way it is, it’s been like that for getting on 120 years – I’m just very sorry.

“No one is more gutted or depressed than me and my hard-working, small staff here. I’m so sorry.

“I’ve been here 27 years and I have never had anything like this.”