Cheltenham’s hole in the track an unfortunate postscript after Sir Gino setback

Injury to Champion Hurdle favourite and contentious decision to run final race overshadow disrupted Trials Day

Before the first of the eight races at Cheltenham on Saturday, the afternoon promised to deliver on its Trials Day billing from start to finish, with serious contenders for festival glory in March scattered throughout the card. By the end, the main lesson concerned the vagaries of chance, after a serious injury to Sir Gino, and then a long delay to the final race after a hole was discovered in the turf, close to the final flight on the hurdles course.

Trainers, jockeys and officials inspected the course before agreeing that conditions were safe to continue, with the runners rerouted around the problem. By the time Kripticjim and Taurus Bay eventually crossed the line almost as one, the sun had set and the photo-finish image was too murky to determine the result. Instead, the stewards resorted to the video footage to declare Kripticjim the winner by a short head. Continue reading...