The Grade Two AIS Novices’ Hurdle went off almost half an hour late after an inspection was called. Clerk of the course Jon Pullin and his team will be looking into the matter further now racing is over
A racecourse employee and clerk of the course Jon Pullin (left) were seen inspecting the affected area in footage on Racing TV(Image: Racing TV)
An investigation has been launched at Cheltenham races after a hole was found in the ground before the final race. The Grade Two AIS Novices’ Hurdle went off almost half an hour late after an inspection was called to determine if racing could continue.
Nicky Henderson and Ben Pauling were among the trainers who discussed the issue with clerk of the course Jon Pullin as the horses remained in the parade ring.
The stewards were satisfied the 2m4½f contest could be run after the rails were realigned, however by the eventual start time, it was nearly dark. And there was a close finish between Kripticjim and Taurus Bay, which led to another delay, as the photo print was not clear due to the fading light.
Clerk of the course Jon Pullin said it was “not ideal” and that he and participants felt it was safe to complete the card. He added that the hole was “about a foot deep”, although could not say exactly what caused it.
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“We very carefully inspected the area we were due to race over again and both myself and the participants were happy and comfortable that the area we were due to race on was safe,” he told Racing TV.
“We will obviously be doing some exploratory work to assess what has gone on. We need time to understand what has caused this incident and before we rush into making any other decisions we need to understand what we are dealing with here.
“We staged seven races perfectly adequately, no areas of concern had been identified and when the area was shown to us down at the second last we assessed it and found a safe route around it.”
Kripticjim, trained by Joe Tizzard, was called the winner, by a short-head from the Harry Redknapp-owned Taurus Bay.
The stewards report said: “An inspection was held following a report from the clerk of the course regarding an area of false ground caused by a possible drainage issue at the top of the home straight.
“The stewards heard evidence from the clerk of the course, riders Gavin Sheehan (Area Safety Officer), Danny Mullins, Nico de Boinville, Sean Bowen and trainers Nicky Henderson, Ben Pauling and Olly Murphy.
“It was decided to by-pass the affected area with the railings being realigned. Following the realignment of the rails, a further inspection was held whereby the inspection party were satisfied with the ground conditions. The stewards were satisfied that racing could continue.”