23 May 2018

Down but not out!

A former amateur rider and now successful broadcaster bravely stopped a run-away horse, getting knocked over in the process, and, cool as cucumber, returned to her day job as an on-course reporter. After one furlong of the Bet And Watch At 188bet.co.uk Handicap at Chepstow yesterday, the David Evans-trained Give Em A Clump stumbled and unseated his rider Fran Berry. The Camacho gelding continued galloping down the track, causing several officials to dive out of his path. At The Races presenter, Hayley Moore, daughter of trainer, Gary, and Ryan's sister, didn't think twice but stood in the three-year-old's path and grabbed the reins. Give Em A Clump did slow down a little but lived up to his name and crashed into the reporter and dragged her along the ground. Resolutely Hayley Moore refused to let go of the reins, however, and the horse came to a standstill. She immediately got to her feet and unbuckled the horse’s saddle. Without batting an eyelid, minutes later she conducted an interview with the winning jockey.

Watch the incident that had Twitter all of a flutter:

https://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/moore-catches-loose-horse-in-style!/147995

Eminently sound.

It's Royal Ascot in a month's time and one particular race, the Prince of Wales's Stakes, is the target for this Frankel colt who ran disappointingly at Chester a week ago, later attributed to a heart fibrillation. The Martyn Meade-trained Eminent has now been given a clean bill of health after extensive tests revealed that the four-year-old's heartbeat has completely settled down and is back to normal. So it has been decided that problem was a one-off and racing will continue as planned.

Going Dutch

The Charlie Hills-trained Dutch Connection put on such an impressive comeback performance, when coming fourth in the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last Saturday that it has been decided that he should drop back in trip to seven furlongs. The plan seems to be for this Dutch Art progeny to tackle the Betway John of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock on June 9 and then go on to have another crack at the Lennox Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, a race he won two years ago.