Fakenham card cut short following slipping incident

Jockeys ‘didn’t have the confidence that it was going to be safe’.

Racing at Fakenham was abandoned after one race due to safety concerns.

The Dan Skelton-trained Ronnies Rules slipped on the bend in the opening novices’ hurdle contest and unseated rider Ben Sutton, who walked into an ambulance after the incident.

Following a lengthy inspection, the rest of the meeting was cancelled, with clerk of the course David Hunter telling Racing TV: “All the constituents to put on a good, safe and competitive day’s racing must be all rowing in the same direction and be all committed to it.

“After that first race, and despite every way of making sure the ground was good and safe, some jockeys said their horses had slipped and they were concerned about that.

“There was a very extensive inquiry and at the end of it, the jockeys didn’t have the confidence that it was going to be safe in case any of them subsequently had a fall that could be nasty.

“One obviously has to take their view very much into account, they are the people on top of the horses.”

Worcester’s scheduled card for next Wednesday has also been called off due to flooding after the River Severn burst its banks. An additional jumps fixture at Southwell has now been announced for that day.

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