The actions of a clerk of the course during a Warrnambool jumps race have been called into question after he veered into the path of runners during a hurdle race while holding a riderless horse.
As the field turned into the home straight of the 3200-metre hurdle – the first race of day three of Warrnambool’s annual jumps carnival – the runners swept dangerously close to the clerk of the course who was struggling to hold a second horse while riding along the inside rail.
The clerk of the course got tangled up in a race at Warrnambool on Thursday.Credit: Twitter
Jockey Richard O’Donoghue who was on the race leader and eventual third-placegetter Frankenstar, appears to change his action to avoid a collision, while Ben O’Farrell had to swing Jekyll’n’hyde off the fence to avoid the unexpected obstacle.
Stewards looked at the vision before declaring correct weight, but are still investigating the incident.
Loading
Spectators at Warrnambool told this masthead that they feared that the clerk of the course’s actions could have caused an accident, or a rider being dislodged. The field managed to pass the unexpected interference without incident.
“I have never seen that happen before during a race,” one punter said, who did not want to be named. “I don’t know what he was trying to achieve.”
The clerk of the course had caught Abreed, a runner that had dislodged rider Aaron Kuru earlier in the race. Kuru was not injured and has been cleared to run in Thursday’s Grand Annual Steeplechase.
As the field swept past Abreed, the horse fired up and almost dislodged the clerk of the course. He then broke free and finished the race.
