Drama at Dundalk as stalls open unexpectedly early

Stalls handler escapes injury.

A stalls handler at Dundalk escaped serious injury after a nasty incident before the opening race on Friday.

The majority of stalls opened before the handler was out of the way and, as he attempted to take evasive action, he was knocked over by one of the runners, virtually sideways into others and ultimately in front of The Feathered Nest.

That mare’s stall had thankfully appeared to open a fraction later and she was able to stand still.

In a separate incident, Denis Hogan’s Gopsies Daughter unseated her rider on exiting the stalls and ran loose, meaning she was withdrawn.

Starter Joe Banahan said: “As soon as I stepped up on the rostrum it went off and there doesn’t seem to be any explanation.

“They couldn’t find any fault, but have changed the power lead going from the button to the stalls as a precaution.”

The race went the way of the Ger Lyons-trained Scream, who was ridden by Colin Keane.

Keane told Racing TV: “I was talking to one of the stalls handlers behind me and nearly came off (when the stalls opened). It was very unexpected, I don’t know what it was.

“He was very lucky.”

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