Circuit judge overruled in claim his horse should have been awarded Sandown race

A circuit judge has failed in an attempt to persuade a BHA appeals panel that his horse should have been awarded a recent race at Sandown.

His Honour Philip Shorrock, who has served on the bench since 2005, argued that Old News, carrying his red and grey colours, had been intimidated out of a rightful victory in the 7f handicap by Mr Tyrrell, who hung markedly right in the closing stages, carrying the runner-up towards the inside rail and prevailing by just a short head.

"Old News was not given the opportunity to do his best," Shorrock, who serves on the south eastern circuit in Britain, told the panel during a Zoom hearing on Thursday. "Because of Mr Tyrrell, he had to take another two or three strides."

Watch Mr Tyrrell beat Old News at Sandown

Shorrock added that the interference had also impacted on his horse, ridden by Joanna Mason, in other ways. "The ground against the far rail was not as good as it was towards the centre of the track, which is why Miss Mason made her run there," he added.

"The fact that Mr Tyrrell was on the left of Old News and coming towards him as they approached the line was something Old News must have perceived. He must have noticed the threat and that caused him not to concentrate as hard as he might have done and not to have made a maximum effort."

"It's harder for my horse to put 100 per cent effort in when he is being taken off his intended line," Mason told the panel. But Liam Browne, the 7lb claimer who rode Mr Tyrrell, said he did not agree there had been interference. "There's no physical contact between me and the second horse," he explained. "I always felt I was confident I was going to win."

A delighted Liam Browne after Mr Tyrrell's victory at Sandown in JulyCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Presenting the BHA's position, Charlotte Davison said: "The only effect on Old News is that he is taken approximately three horse-widths off his intended line. Miss Mason did not stop riding, nor did Old News become unbalanced. Miss Mason did not change hands during the period of interference. The whip remained in her right hand and was available to her to use, all the way to the line.

"Mr Tyrrell was about a head down at the start of the interference but continues to make up ground all the way to the line to make up that head and win by a short head. By using Pythagoras, it can be shown that the extra distance Old News had to travel was likely three inches at most. This is not even close to the distance by which Old News was beaten."

That reasoning appears to have been accepted by the panel, whose chair Philip Curl, himself a retired circuit judge, thanked Shorrock for the clarity of his arguments, but said: "The probabilities are that Old News would not have beaten Mr Tyrrell if no interference had occurred. In our view, Mr Tyrrell was going marginally the better of the two during that last crucial half-furlong and even with a straight run to the line, Old News would probably not have won.

"But we do think it was a very arguable case which was very ably put and we thus return the deposit."

Read more here

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