Wolverhampton maiden delayed by 40 minutes after horse refuses to be caught

There was a lengthy delay to proceedings at Wolverhampton on Thursday night when the Tom Dascombe-trained newcomer Cashel proved restless in the stalls and had to be taken out by handlers.

However, in the incident the three-year-old’s bridle broke and he proved somewhat recalcitrant as he refused to be caught for around 20 minutes, forcing all the other runners and rider in the 6.45 maiden to be taken out of the stalls.

Cashel was eventually removed from the track but still refused to be caught by a posse of racecourse staff and his trainer before he was guided back to the racecourse stables and the race was allowed to start albeit more than 41 minutes late.

Also withdrawn beforehand were Shanghai Silver, Deolali and New Graduate, the latter pair on veterinary advice. The stewards reported that it was a "freak occurrence" and nobody was to blame.

The stewards' report also noted: "There had been constant communication between the starter, the riders and the veterinary surgeon at the start as to the best way to resolve the matter and all involved were unanimous in their belief that it had been safer for all horses to remain in the stalls due to a lack of space and the loose horse indicating that it would kick."

The race went the way of odds-on favourite Martineo, who stayed on strongly for Andrea Atzeni to get the better of Grecian Spirit.

Results, replays and analysis

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