There has been some cracking racing at the Punchestown Festival in recent days, although there was a controversial moment during one race at the venue yesterday.
It came in the marathon Cross Country race at the meeting, one in which Gavin Cromwell horse Stumptown was considered as a strong favourite to win.
With Sean Flanagan on board, the horse started the race well and looked well position to make a strong finish. However, they would drop back a bit in the field after a poor jump at the 20th fence.
Unfortunately, further disaster was to strike soon after.
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Jockey shocked ffter loose horse wreaked havoc at Punchestown
Stumptown still had a chance to recover from that error during the closing stages of the race, only for a loose horse to end its chances of victory.
Five fences from home, the riderless Streets Of Doyen would run across the course and into the pack, making contact with Stumptown and knocking Sean Flanagan from the horse.
You can watch the incident below.
The equine Rey Mysterio made an appearance at Punchestown this afternoon 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/4vYd9ylAC8
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 2, 2024
Thankfully, both horses and the jockey were unharmed. The race would eventually be won by 28/1 shot Singing Banjo.
Sean Flanagan would take to social media after the race, admitting the that incident completely took him by surprise.
🫣 did not see that one coming https://t.co/rxf6Tek6Nh
— Sean Flanagan (@swflanagan7) May 2, 2024
He will certainly be hoping that he is not involved in another similar coming together in the near future.
Considering that this horse was considered as the favourite, you can be certain that quite a few punters were less than pleased with how this race would play out. You would definitely have to question your look if your big bet of the day came up short in a manner such as this one.
You can certainly always count on some unpredictability at the Punchestown Festival.
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