Horse ploughs through barrier after being ‘blinded by sun’ with trainers furious
A freak ending to a horse race saw the leader plough through a barrier after being 'blinded by the sun'.
Howdilyoudo was narrowly out in front in the Class 4 handicap hurdle at Uttoxeter on Tuesday (July 5) with Gavin Sheehan in prime position to ride home to victory. But things quickly took a turn for the worse due to the 8pm sunset wreaking havoc.
The mount sharply veered to the left when approaching the final hurdle, smashing its way through rather than jumping over. That spelled an end to Sheehan's hopes of winning, but the drama didn't stop there.
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He was unable to right his horse, who pushed Kalma, ridden by Tom Scuadmore, out wide too. With nowhere to go, the pair both clattered into the plastic rail to the side of the track.
Kalma was carried out of the race while Howdilyoudo, trained by Jamie Snowdon, was pulled up, with neither the jockeys nor the horses injured in the heart-stopping moment. Snowdon was still less than impressed, though.
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He took to Twitter to vent his frustration at the stewards' decision to omit only the original final hurdle, writing: "Howdilyoudo leads over the final flight but is blinded by the sun and dives into it.
"Lucky to stand up, but should the hurdles have been dolled off? They were in the race before and the race after!"
Commentator John Blance admitted he was "was off for a lie down" after the race, which was eventually won by 18-1 Catchmeifyoucan.
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