Windsor voided after false start; five jockeys suspended ten days

A Windsor evening that began with chaos at the start ended with a race voided and five jockeys facing ten-day suspensions after failing to pull up following a false start in a chaotic scene at the starting stalls.

The incident occurred in the second race of the card, a 5f apprentice handicap featuring seven runners. Master Zack, a three-year-old trained by Martin Dunne, had been hooded to enter the stalls. Moments before the off, the horse reared up, the hood remained over its eyes, and it bolted from the stalls. Rider Ryan Kavanagh managed to stay in the stalls while his mount ran off, the blindfold still in place. The horse veered to the right and crashed through a plastic running rail, though no rider was reported injured. Beaumadier, another runner, also remained locked in the stalls, costing the field valuable ground as the rest of the contenders pressed on toward the line. When the field finally moved away, Cabeza De Llave crossed the post first, but the race was subsequently declared void.

The start appeared to hinge on a combination of equipment and signals. Beaumadier’s stall door did not operate as expected, and the start was declared a false start after the door flap...