Zabriskie given late clearance for Epsom run after lengthy stewards' inquiry

Confusion surrounded the participation of Zabriskie in the Group 3 Diomed Stakes at Epsom on Saturday, with a stewards' inquiry involving the horse ending less than ten minutes before the race.

The four-year-old, who finished 12th and last in the 2018 Derby, was the subject of an inquiry after the anti-doping manager at the racecourse stables saw evidence of the possible oral administration of a substance during a pre-race check.

Jockey Chris Hayes was left shrugging his shoulders and holding his saddle as trainer-owner Luke Comer failed to emerge from the stewards' room and the other riders gathered to head out to the paddock before the race. "I only knew I was riding ten minutes before, just as the other lads were going out," Hayes later said.

There was no on-course announcement made regarding the participation, or otherwise, of Zabriskie, while details of the inquiry were published on the BHA website later in the day.

Luke Comer: trainer of ZabriskieCredit: Caroline Norris

Robin Mounsey, BHA head of media, said: "The risk in making announcements ahead of a race while an inquiry is ongoing is that it may cause disruption to betting markets unnecessarily.

"The stewards always aim to put relevant information into the public domain at the right moment but also need to be careful around setting hares running unnecessarily."

Billionaire property developer Comer said Zabriskie, a 66-1 shot who was cleared to run after the stewards deemed he had only received normal food and water before the race, had arrived late on the course after a tortuous journey. The four-year-old would go on to finish last of six.

He said: "The horse was a bit distressed in the horsebox and got very warm. He had overheated and sweated a lot as we got stuck in very bad traffic on the M25. The stewards wanted to check how he was and to see if I was still happy to run him.

"In hindsight I shouldn't have done so but that was because of the ground, not what happened before."

Comer’s explanation that Zabriskie had been administered with an electrolyte paste on his journey the previous day was noted. A report was forwarded to the BHA head office for further consideration.

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