Racing: Poor training blamed for 'batrtlefield'

Sedgefield tragedy: RSPCA labels incident an `unavoidable accident' but other welfare group condemns trainers

THE JOCKEY CLUB yesterday identified two possible causes of the head-on collision at Sedgefield on Tuesday afternoon which left three horses dead and a scene which, according to one of the jockeys involved, "was like a battlefield".

John Maxse, the Club's spokesman, said that a report on the incident had been received from the racecourse yesterday morning. In the opinion of the local stewards, "the first factor was a well-intentioned attempt to try and catch one of these horses, and the other was that the last race being a bumper, the hurdles had been dismantled, meaning that there was an obstacle-free run for these horses back down the racecourse. In the past it has been found that the hurdles act as an obstacle and help siphon off loose horses to the exit gates".

The collision occurred as the field in the novice chase was turning for home on the second and final circuit. Three riderless horses, which had all parted company with their jockeys at the first fence, had turned and galloped back up the course after the first circuit.

One of the riderless horses, Skane River, was among the fatalities, along with Floss The Boss and Royal Scimitar, from the main body of the field.

The death toll was the highest in a single race since last year's Grand National, and was not the first such incident to occur at Sedgefield.

Neale Doughty was seriously injured in a similar collision at the course in 1989, and earlier on Tuesday afternoon, the novice hurdler Gus Cunningham refused and unseated his rider at the first, and then ran loose. A collision was avoided only by good fortune.

The scenes at Sedgefield received widespread coverage, both in the press and on television, prompting a number of animal welfare organisations to express their concern. Andrew Tyler, the director of Animal Aid, claimed yesterday that the horses concerned had been inadequately schooled. "The horses concerned were novices and it seems that they were not ready to jump."

Tyler went on: "It was a horribly stressful event for them. This was a particular incident which no doubt will be brushed aside by the authorities as an unfortunate one-off, but when the British public enjoy their racing, I would urge them to consider that more than 200 horses die on the track each year, and when their racing days are finished, there is no money from the racing authorities for a happy retirement, except for a happy few. Many of them end up in pet food."

Bernard Donigan, an equine specialist with the RSPCA, said that "under normal circumstances, loose horses would leave the course at the exit gates. It was attempts to secure the loose horses which appeared to turn them away from the exit gates. Having viewed the video and read the interim report, it was an unavoidable accident which could not have been foreseen."

Ron Barry, the Jockey Club's inspector of courses, visited Sedgefield yesterday. "He hopes to identify ways in which the exit gates could be made more accessible to loose horses," Maxse said. "It's something we've already done at other courses. At Perth, for example, we've almost created a layby situation where the rail is realigned to take them towards the exit."

At Sedgefield on Tuesday, however, the horses did not get as far as the exit before turning around. "You can have all the safety measures in place in the world, but sometimes you can't legislate for loose horses," Maxse said. "They are a very unpredictable quantity."

The only cause for relief in Tuesday's incident was that none of the riders involved suffered serious injury. Lorcan Wyer, who was thrown several feet into the air when his mount Royal Scimitar collided with Skane River, rode in three races at Musselburgh yesterday afternoon. "Obviously crowd safety is paramount but one possibility is that they could create a new chute near the saddling boxes and horses' boxes as that is the area where the loose horses tend to go," he said.

The Jockey Club's inquiry into the incident will now continue. "Obviously I can't speculate on what the results might be," Maxse said. "The full findings will be available to the public at some stage. I will know later in the week whether any changes will be implemented before the next meeting. If it were possible, then they would be."