Alan King hits out at stewards in wake of Aweedram's Britannia withdrawal

Alan King on Friday hit out at Royal Ascot stewards, saying they had been too hasty when withdrawing Aweedram from Thursday's Britannia Stakes – an act that also left the gelding's part-owner Max McNeill furious.

Aweedram parted company with Andrea Atzeni and galloped loose to post. He was then taken out, but was not – according to King – assessed by on-course vets before his withdrawal.

"I'm annoyed," said the trainer, who is best known for his jumps exploits but is becoming a growing force on the Flat.

Biometric and Turgenev fight out the finish to the Britannia StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

"We get withdrawn, no words, just withdrawn straight away. I go into the weighing room and the first thing I check is if Andrea is all right.

"He was absolutely fine, so I went to the stewards' room and was told the horse was unruly. The horse was not unruly and, as Andrea said, he went down, jinked, got loose, had a couple of little broncs, and was withdrawn within one minute of that.

"Andrea was getting in the car to get back on the horse, but the horse has already been withdrawn and not one vet has seen him. If the vets had said he'd bolted to the start and his heart rate was too high, fine, but not one vet has seen him."

King, who won the King George V Handicap with Primitivo three years ago, questioned the theory that Aweedram had done too much before the race and might have compromised his chances.

He added: "I know punters are important, but give everything a chance. They took him out straight away and have overreacted.

"The horse hacked down to the start and they've withdrawn him immediately. I know more about horse welfare than anyone in that stewards' room; at least give us the chance to examine the horse.

"If the horse is distressed at the start having overdone himself, take him out – no issues, but this horse lobbed down and the vet didn't even get the chance to see him."

McNeill, one of King's major supporters, was also floored by the decision. "As an owner, you build up for this race for weeks," he said.

"On Monday we were umming and ahhing about whether we'd get in. We get in, we're excited, have all of our friends and family here and then this happens.

"If we want to try to encourage owners into this sport we need to try a bit harder. I'm not like some big owners as I'm never going to have a runner here with such a good chance on Ladies' Day again. I think racing needs to wake up. It really mattered and they've upset a lot of people."

The BHA insisted officials had taken the appropriate measures. "The stewards have the power to withdraw any horse which takes charge of or dislodges its rider on the way to the start," a spokesperson said.

"If the stewards require more information they can request that a racecourse vet and or veterinary officer examine the horse, but if, in the view of the stewards, there is sufficient evidence that the horse may have compromised its chance prior to the race then the rules give them the ability to withdraw it.

"The rule is in place to allow the stewards to act if they consider that the horse may not be able to produce its best performance and this was their view in this case."

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