A stewards inquiry was called to investigate the confusion at the start of a race in which Dark Tide Rising is afforded a huge advantage to win the bumper race by 15 lengths
Confusion at Worcester: Kielan Woods (front) looks back at the start as the flag man waves his flag ahead(Image: @AtTheRaces)
A jockey was able to steal a huge lead and win a race unchallenged after taking advantage of a chaotic start to a race at Worcester on Friday.
Punters questioned whether the 2m National Hunt Flat Race should have been declared void after Dark Tide Rising coasted to a 15 lengths victory under Kielan Woods.
The confusion began when Company Charge, who was making his debut for Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies, whipped round to the left and unshipped jockey Sam Twiston-Davies, Dark Tide Rising went off into a clear lead while the rest of the field appeared to hesitate after the flag man waved his flag up ahead, the usual signal of a false start.
Woods and other riders glanced behind them at the starter in the confusion but when the flag was lowered, they started to race, by which time Dark Tide Rising was left with a clear and ultimately unassailable advantage.
Watching a replay of the start Sky Sports Racing reporter Luke Harvey said: “The flag man’s confused so he waves his flag. Kielan Woods looks around. He’s looked around at the starter who hasn’t waved his flag, which means the race is going ahead and Kielan Woods has quite literally stolen this.
“There was a fair amount of controversy there but you can’t take away a brilliant ride by Kielan Woods.”
Woods said: “The flag went down. Sammy’s horse obviously unseated him. I seen the flag man hold his flag up and then he’s dropped it down.”
The stewards called an inquiry into the start of the race which also considered “why the Advanced Flag Operator (AFO) appeared to briefly wave the recall flag before lowering it and walking away, despite there very clearly being no instruction from the Starter that a false start had been called.”
Twiston-Davies, Sean Bowen, Woods, Lewis Stones, Freddie Keighley, Lee Edwards, Tristan Durrell, James Best and Harry Cobden were interviewed as well as the two BHA starters and the AFO.
The report said: “Having heard their evidence, the Stewards were satisfied that a fair start had been affected, before COMPANY CHANGE veered violently left-handed after the starting tape released, resulting in Twiston-Davies being unseated.
“After this had occurred Woods had sent DARK TIDE RISING (IRE) forward to make the running but at the same time EBARAYNA, which was initially sitting in the slipstream of DARK TIDE RISING (IRE) had baulked when reacting to the unseated horse and in jamming on had effectively interfered with the rest of the field to varying degrees, which greatly assisted DARK TIDE RISING (IRE) in establishing a sizeable advantage through the early stages.
“All riders with the exception of Lee Edwards explained that they were in little doubt as to whether or not they should continue in the race despite seeing the AFO briefly wave his flag, as they had a clear view of the senior starter for several seconds and he never gave indication that he was raising his flag, nor was the whistle blown by the AFO, which under the rules must accompany any recall flag being waved.
“Edwards explained that after his mount had surrendered several lengths of its own accord due to being spooked by the riderless horse, he chased EBARAYNA along to get it into stride before briefly being unsure whether a false start had been called after seeing the AFO waving his flag.
“He added that in the overall context of this race and given his beaten margin, it was unlikely that any period of indecision had materially affected his chances. Therefore, the Stewards confirmed the result and ordered a report to be forwarded to the Head Office of the British Horseracing Authority.”