'It can get congested' - Leopardstown to trial cutaway rail on Saturday

Classic-winning jockey Chris Hayes has welcomed the move for a cutaway rail to be trialled at Leopardstown's Flat card on Saturday to lessen incidents of trouble in running.

Fellow rider Niall McCullagh was among those to call for the measure to be introduced in the aftermath of in-running traffic issues at Longines Irish Champions Weekend, with the most high-profile incident coming in the Matron Stakes when Mother Earth finished third after a troubled trip.

It's not the first time such an initiative has been undertaken at Leopardstown. A false rail was also tried a decade ago when the consensus was seemingly that it didn't prove effective.

McCullagh said he believes the procedure failed to work at the time due to the rail not being as far out as necessary, meaning it "didn't throw you towards the centre of the track" and led to horses going "straight across to the rail from the false rail".

Leopardstown is set to trial the cutaway rail on SaturdayCredit: Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (Twitter)

News of the cutaway rail being trialled again came on Tuesday morning when the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board tweeted a picture of what the configuration would look like for Saturday's eight-race card, which features the Group 3 Richmond Homes Killavullan Stakes.

"I'm happy to trial anything that the racecourse is willing to do to improve racing or make it fairer, as such," said Hayes.

"The fact that [Leopardstown] clerk of the course Lorcan Wyer is willing to trial it is enough for me."

He added: "I have big respect for his opinion and have every faith that if he thinks this is worth doing, we should give it a try. I feel he always presents tracks that are absolutely 100 per cent."

Hayes acknowledged that the events of Irish Champions Weekend likely influenced the decision to trial the false rail again but stressed that in-running traffic issues at Leopardstown are more of a general occurrence than related to specific incidents on the Group 1 card last month.

Chris Hayes: 'If there's anything to improve it, I'm willing to try it'Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"Leopardstown is a world-class track but it can be tricky and can get congested down the inside," he explained.

"This has probably come to light a little bit more because of Irish Champions Weekend, and possibly the Matron Stakes, but it could happen on a Thursday night at the track just as easily. If there's anything to improve it, I'm willing to try it."

It remains to be seen whether the move will be a permanent one, but Saturday's action could prove informative as to the false rail's effectiveness given healthy entry sizes for all races, including the 1m4f Leopardstown October Handicap.

A spokesperson for the IHRB told the Racing Post on Tuesday: "It will be trialled this Saturday and all feedback from the meeting will be considered. We will monitor the situation going forward."

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