Horseracing at Newbury was abandoned yesterday after one of the most bizarre occurrences ever to hit the sport.
Two horses, Fenix Two and Marching Song, collapsed in the parade ring and died before the first race at the Berkshire racecourse. The opening race went ahead but stewards abandoned the meeting shortly afterwards. It is thought that an underground electricity cable may be to blame.
Channel Four Racing television cameras captured the horses rearing up in obvious distress in the parade ring and then, as horrified onlookers looked on, two of them collapsed to the ground dead. The rearing up of the horses was later shown on the news but the moment they collapsed was too horrific to be shown.
Two other horses also collapsed at the same spot but lived. One, Kid Cassidy, was withdrawn after charging headlong to the start. ‘He went down there like a wild buffalo,’ said jockey Tony McCoy.
Another, The Merry Giant, did run but was later said by assistant trainer Gearoid Costello to be severely traumatised in the racecourse stables. ‘He is still very upset and the vets are with him. I don’t know if I can take him home tonight,’ he said.
Those handling Fenix Two (named after one of the capsules that helped rescue the Chilean miners) and Marching Song during their distress suffered mild electric shocks from the horses' reigns and bodies and both were said to have scorch marks on their mouths.
A spokeswoman for Newbury Racecourse confirmed that an electricity cable had been found under the paddock.
She said: 'The Southern Electric Board came in and did an investigation and found a cable.
'At this stage we cannot confirm if that definitely was the reason for the incident.'
British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nic Coward revealed investigations are on-going.
He said: 'This was a tragic incident and our thoughts have to be with the connections.
'Once the incident had taken place racecourse officials got together with trainers, jockeys and owners and I think in difficult and freakish circumstances, they had some difficult decisions to make and made the right ones.
'Obviously Newbury are still in close contact with investigators they have there carrying out inspections, trying to work out what really happened.
The feature race of the meeting was the £120,000 Totesport Trophy Hurdle, Europe’s richest handicap hurdle and a key trial for next month’s Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Tragedy at Newbury: Electricity fault is suspected as two horses die in the paddock
By Jonathan Powell
13th February 2011
Daily Mail
Racing was sensationally abandoned at Newbury on Saturday after two horses died in the paddock shortly before the first race, apparently as a result of electrocution. The horses, Fenix Two and Marching Song, collapsed in the parade ring.
As thousands of racegoers reeled under the impact of the tragedy at one of Newbury’s biggest racedays of the year, the stewards abandoned the lucrative meeting after the opening race.
A spokeswoman for Newbury Racecourse confirmed that a cable had been found under the paddock.
She said: 'The Southern Electric Board came in and did an investigation and found a cable.
'At this stage we cannot confirm if that definitely was the reason for the incident.'
Grim scene: Covers mark the spot where two horses died
Witnesses said the two horses appeared to collapse after suffering some sort of electrical shock. Both were said to have scorch marks on their mouths.
British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nic Coward revealed investigations are on-going.
He said: 'This was a tragic incident and our thoughts have to be with the connections.
'Once the incident had taken place racecourse officials got together with trainers, jockeys and owners and I think in difficult and freakish circumstances, they had some difficult decisions to make and made the right ones.
'Obviously Newbury are still in close contact with investigators they have there carrying out inspections, trying to work out what really happened.
'It is premature to describe in detail what happened because that would be speculation, but fingers are being pointed at some kind of electrical fault. Post-mortems are also being carried out.
'I think we should stress that racecourses have a very strong track record of dealing with all of these issues at the track in the interest of welfare - the horse, the jockey, trainers, owners and the customer.
'Racecourses are doing all they can and at the moment I think we should look at this as a bizarre moment that people who have been around racing for decades and decades have never seen the like.
'Courses are very vigilant and owners and trainers are very vigilant always. People across the country have seen this happen and their feelings will be for the connections of the horses.'
Marching Song’s trainer Andy Turnell admitted the five-year-old's death is a huge blow for everyone at the yard.
He said: 'Everything seemed to be going normally and when I went to saddle Nick Scholfield on to him he just sidestepped and then seemed to freak out.
'There was a horse behind me doing the same and I thought he was just reacting playfully, but it soon became apparent that wasn't the case.
'He went down and to my mind I thought he'd suffered a heart attack. It was bizarre and I've never seen anything quite like it.
What went wrong? Electricity workers later investigated the tragedy
'When I realised the other horse had gone down behind him I obviously realised there was more to it than a heart attack. There was obviously something going on.
'My head travelling lad, Colin, held the horse's head and said he felt some form of electricity through his head.
'The horse suffered slightly but he was dead within 30 seconds. It was very quick.
'I understand that horses are much more susceptible to electric shocks than we are and they wear steel plates on their feet for racing.
'We're a very small yard and he was one of our best horses, so it's very disappointing.
'But racing has its ups and downs and that's life. We just have to get on with it, but obviously the lads at the yard are upset.
'It's quite extraordinary and I've never seen anything like it before. I suppose you've got to be pleased more horses weren't stricken.
'Once they were off the walkway they seemed to be all right. It was just a tragic accident.'
The horse's jockey Nick Scholfield said: ‘I’ve never experienced anything like it and I hope I never do again.
He started kicking out as though he’d lost control of his limbs and then fell straight down. I loved the horse and it was horrible to hear his distress. I think he was dead within seconds. I still can’t understand it.’
Two other horses all but collapsed at the same spot. One, Kid Cassidy, was withdrawn after charging headlong to the start. ‘He went down there like a wild buffalo,’ said jockey Tony McCoy.
Another, The Merry Giant, did run but was later said by assistant trainer Gearoid Costello to be severely traumatised in the racecourse stables. ‘He is still very upset and the vets are with him. I don’t know if I can take him home tonight,’ he said.
Tom Campbell, a racecourse vet, said: ‘I went to Fenix Two and tried to restrain him while he was on the ground, stop him seizuring and injuring people. While he was down and on his side, there was a sensation like an electrical stimulus. I tried to administer some drugs to him, but unfortunately he died a couple of minutes later.’
Mystery: Fenix Two and Marching Song died shortly after rearing up
Campbell’s colleague, Jamie O’Gorman, added: ‘I was standing in the middle of the paddock and I could see out of the corner of my eye one horse playing up, then another one and then the one behind that.
‘My initial thought was that the first horse had set the other ones off, but it was only when the first horse buckled over that it became apparent that there was a serious problem.’
Horrific: Nicky Henderson has never seen anything so upsetting
Post mortems are likely to be conducted on the dead horses tomorrow. At an inquiry yesterday, the Newbury stewards heard that both were wearing steel racing plates while the two which survived wore lighter aluminium plates.
After Kid Cassidy was withdrawn at the start, his trainer Nicky Henderson admitted: ‘I think he was incredibly lucky to survive after receiving a similar type of shock to the pair who died. In 32 years as a trainer I’ve never seen anything quite so upsetting. It was horrific.’
The race was allowed to take place after a delay at the start while the heart rates of the remaining runners were checked. But shortly afterwards the remainder of the seven-race meeting was abandoned on the grounds of health and safety.
Newbury’s managing director, Stephen Higgins, explained: ‘At times like this lives are more important than racing. Until we know the cause of the deaths we cannot isolate the problem. So it was better not to continue on the grounds of safety.’
The first inkling of any drama occurred when Kid Cassidy’s hind legs gave way as he circled the
paddock before leaving early for the start. Henderson said: ‘My daughter saw him lose his hind legs but then he seemed to be all right.’
Shortly afterwards, trainer Andy Turnell was about to help Scholfield into the saddle on Marching Song when the horse reared up backwards without any warning and kicked out violently before crashing to the ground.
Called off: Newbury's valuable card is cancelled
Turnell added: ‘It happened so quickly. Marching Song turned away and went down. I felt at first he’d had a heart attack, then a moment later Fenix Two died just behind us. No one seems to be sure but it looked like an electrical thing.’
Turnell’s travelling head lad Colin Pritchard moved swiftly to tend to the stricken horse. He said: ‘As I tried to hold down his head I felt a tingling, static sensation.’
Harrowing scene: The investigation gets underway
Marching Song’s joint owner, former champion jockey Graham Thorner, was close to tears after witnessing the last moments of the horse he bought at the sales 18 months ago. ‘He wasn’t a world beater but we liked him, he was improving and he would have won races,’ he said.
A decision will be taken tomorrow over whether to run yesterday’s card on a new date over the next 10 days.
The feature race of the meeting was the £120,000 Totesport Trophy Hurdle, Europe’s richest handicap hurdle and a key trial for next month’s Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
dailymail.co.uk
Two horses, Fenix Two and Marching Song, collapsed in the parade ring and died before the first race at the Berkshire racecourse. The opening race went ahead but stewards abandoned the meeting shortly afterwards. It is thought that an underground electricity cable may be to blame.
Channel Four Racing television cameras captured the horses rearing up in obvious distress in the parade ring and then, as horrified onlookers looked on, two of them collapsed to the ground dead. The rearing up of the horses was later shown on the news but the moment they collapsed was too horrific to be shown.
Two other horses also collapsed at the same spot but lived. One, Kid Cassidy, was withdrawn after charging headlong to the start. ‘He went down there like a wild buffalo,’ said jockey Tony McCoy.
Another, The Merry Giant, did run but was later said by assistant trainer Gearoid Costello to be severely traumatised in the racecourse stables. ‘He is still very upset and the vets are with him. I don’t know if I can take him home tonight,’ he said.
Those handling Fenix Two (named after one of the capsules that helped rescue the Chilean miners) and Marching Song during their distress suffered mild electric shocks from the horses' reigns and bodies and both were said to have scorch marks on their mouths.
A spokeswoman for Newbury Racecourse confirmed that an electricity cable had been found under the paddock.
She said: 'The Southern Electric Board came in and did an investigation and found a cable.
'At this stage we cannot confirm if that definitely was the reason for the incident.'
British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nic Coward revealed investigations are on-going.
He said: 'This was a tragic incident and our thoughts have to be with the connections.
'Once the incident had taken place racecourse officials got together with trainers, jockeys and owners and I think in difficult and freakish circumstances, they had some difficult decisions to make and made the right ones.
'Obviously Newbury are still in close contact with investigators they have there carrying out inspections, trying to work out what really happened.
The feature race of the meeting was the £120,000 Totesport Trophy Hurdle, Europe’s richest handicap hurdle and a key trial for next month’s Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Tragedy at Newbury: Electricity fault is suspected as two horses die in the paddock
By Jonathan Powell
13th February 2011
Daily Mail
Racing was sensationally abandoned at Newbury on Saturday after two horses died in the paddock shortly before the first race, apparently as a result of electrocution. The horses, Fenix Two and Marching Song, collapsed in the parade ring.
As thousands of racegoers reeled under the impact of the tragedy at one of Newbury’s biggest racedays of the year, the stewards abandoned the lucrative meeting after the opening race.
A spokeswoman for Newbury Racecourse confirmed that a cable had been found under the paddock.
She said: 'The Southern Electric Board came in and did an investigation and found a cable.
'At this stage we cannot confirm if that definitely was the reason for the incident.'
Grim scene: Covers mark the spot where two horses died
Witnesses said the two horses appeared to collapse after suffering some sort of electrical shock. Both were said to have scorch marks on their mouths.
British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nic Coward revealed investigations are on-going.
He said: 'This was a tragic incident and our thoughts have to be with the connections.
'Once the incident had taken place racecourse officials got together with trainers, jockeys and owners and I think in difficult and freakish circumstances, they had some difficult decisions to make and made the right ones.
'Obviously Newbury are still in close contact with investigators they have there carrying out inspections, trying to work out what really happened.
'It is premature to describe in detail what happened because that would be speculation, but fingers are being pointed at some kind of electrical fault. Post-mortems are also being carried out.
'I think we should stress that racecourses have a very strong track record of dealing with all of these issues at the track in the interest of welfare - the horse, the jockey, trainers, owners and the customer.
'Racecourses are doing all they can and at the moment I think we should look at this as a bizarre moment that people who have been around racing for decades and decades have never seen the like.
'Courses are very vigilant and owners and trainers are very vigilant always. People across the country have seen this happen and their feelings will be for the connections of the horses.'
Marching Song’s trainer Andy Turnell admitted the five-year-old's death is a huge blow for everyone at the yard.
He said: 'Everything seemed to be going normally and when I went to saddle Nick Scholfield on to him he just sidestepped and then seemed to freak out.
'There was a horse behind me doing the same and I thought he was just reacting playfully, but it soon became apparent that wasn't the case.
'He went down and to my mind I thought he'd suffered a heart attack. It was bizarre and I've never seen anything quite like it.
What went wrong? Electricity workers later investigated the tragedy
'When I realised the other horse had gone down behind him I obviously realised there was more to it than a heart attack. There was obviously something going on.
'My head travelling lad, Colin, held the horse's head and said he felt some form of electricity through his head.
'The horse suffered slightly but he was dead within 30 seconds. It was very quick.
'I understand that horses are much more susceptible to electric shocks than we are and they wear steel plates on their feet for racing.
'We're a very small yard and he was one of our best horses, so it's very disappointing.
'But racing has its ups and downs and that's life. We just have to get on with it, but obviously the lads at the yard are upset.
'It's quite extraordinary and I've never seen anything like it before. I suppose you've got to be pleased more horses weren't stricken.
'Once they were off the walkway they seemed to be all right. It was just a tragic accident.'
The horse's jockey Nick Scholfield said: ‘I’ve never experienced anything like it and I hope I never do again.
He started kicking out as though he’d lost control of his limbs and then fell straight down. I loved the horse and it was horrible to hear his distress. I think he was dead within seconds. I still can’t understand it.’
Two other horses all but collapsed at the same spot. One, Kid Cassidy, was withdrawn after charging headlong to the start. ‘He went down there like a wild buffalo,’ said jockey Tony McCoy.
Another, The Merry Giant, did run but was later said by assistant trainer Gearoid Costello to be severely traumatised in the racecourse stables. ‘He is still very upset and the vets are with him. I don’t know if I can take him home tonight,’ he said.
Tom Campbell, a racecourse vet, said: ‘I went to Fenix Two and tried to restrain him while he was on the ground, stop him seizuring and injuring people. While he was down and on his side, there was a sensation like an electrical stimulus. I tried to administer some drugs to him, but unfortunately he died a couple of minutes later.’
Mystery: Fenix Two and Marching Song died shortly after rearing up
Campbell’s colleague, Jamie O’Gorman, added: ‘I was standing in the middle of the paddock and I could see out of the corner of my eye one horse playing up, then another one and then the one behind that.
‘My initial thought was that the first horse had set the other ones off, but it was only when the first horse buckled over that it became apparent that there was a serious problem.’
Horrific: Nicky Henderson has never seen anything so upsetting
Post mortems are likely to be conducted on the dead horses tomorrow. At an inquiry yesterday, the Newbury stewards heard that both were wearing steel racing plates while the two which survived wore lighter aluminium plates.
After Kid Cassidy was withdrawn at the start, his trainer Nicky Henderson admitted: ‘I think he was incredibly lucky to survive after receiving a similar type of shock to the pair who died. In 32 years as a trainer I’ve never seen anything quite so upsetting. It was horrific.’
The race was allowed to take place after a delay at the start while the heart rates of the remaining runners were checked. But shortly afterwards the remainder of the seven-race meeting was abandoned on the grounds of health and safety.
Newbury’s managing director, Stephen Higgins, explained: ‘At times like this lives are more important than racing. Until we know the cause of the deaths we cannot isolate the problem. So it was better not to continue on the grounds of safety.’
The first inkling of any drama occurred when Kid Cassidy’s hind legs gave way as he circled the
paddock before leaving early for the start. Henderson said: ‘My daughter saw him lose his hind legs but then he seemed to be all right.’
Shortly afterwards, trainer Andy Turnell was about to help Scholfield into the saddle on Marching Song when the horse reared up backwards without any warning and kicked out violently before crashing to the ground.
Called off: Newbury's valuable card is cancelled
Turnell added: ‘It happened so quickly. Marching Song turned away and went down. I felt at first he’d had a heart attack, then a moment later Fenix Two died just behind us. No one seems to be sure but it looked like an electrical thing.’
Turnell’s travelling head lad Colin Pritchard moved swiftly to tend to the stricken horse. He said: ‘As I tried to hold down his head I felt a tingling, static sensation.’
Harrowing scene: The investigation gets underway
Marching Song’s joint owner, former champion jockey Graham Thorner, was close to tears after witnessing the last moments of the horse he bought at the sales 18 months ago. ‘He wasn’t a world beater but we liked him, he was improving and he would have won races,’ he said.
A decision will be taken tomorrow over whether to run yesterday’s card on a new date over the next 10 days.
The feature race of the meeting was the £120,000 Totesport Trophy Hurdle, Europe’s richest handicap hurdle and a key trial for next month’s Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
dailymail.co.uk
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