Doyle as shocked as anyone by news he'd ridden wrong horse in Fillies' Mile

Jockey James Doyle admitted he was as surprised as everybody else by the mix-up in the Fillies' Mile in which he partnered the wrong horse to finish third in the Group 1.

Doyle passed the post third on what he thought was 50-1 shot Snowfall at Newmarket but it later transpired that due to a saddle cloth mix-up he had instead ridden stablemate Mother Earth, an 18-1 chance who should have been the mount of William Buick.

The mistake was flagged up on social media on Friday afternoon with trainer Aidan O'Brien, who was not at Newmarket and had not watched the race live, offering no excuses for the mistake and apologising for the error.

Doyle said: "There's not a lot to say, there was a mistake and the wrong saddles went on the wrong horses. I'd never seen either of the fillies before and I was clueless about it until I went home last night and was told about it."

James Doyle: 'I've never seen either of them before and I was clueless about it until I went home last night and was told about it'Credit: Tom Shaw

A stewards' inquiry was held at Newmarket before racing on Saturday in which the jockeys, stable staff, course officials and O'Brien were interviewed. The matter was referred to the BHA headquarters in London.

A note following the inquiry, which was chaired by BHA chief steward Shaun Parker, said: "An inquiry was held to consider the circumstances surrounding the participation of Mother Earth and Snowfall, both trained by Aidan O'Brien, in the bet365 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket after a report was made by O'Brien to the chief steward yesterday evening that in his opinion, the fillies' were incorrectly saddled which resulted in them carrying the wrong number cloths and therefore being ridden by the incorrect riders.

"O'Brien was interviewed by telephone, the clerk of the scales, an equine welfare and integrity officer and the representative of Aidan O’Brien, who had saddled both runners, were also interviewed. Having heard their evidence, a report was forwarded to the head office of the BHA for further consideration."

Coral, Ladbrokes, Betway, bet365 and Betfred paid out on both Mother Earth and Snowfall as placed finishers, while Betfair Sportsbook also paid backers of Dubai Fountain, who finished fourth, as a placed finisher.

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