BELLEWSTOWN Racecourse and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board will engage an agronomist to help them investigate the racecourse bend which saw multiple fallers this week, leading to the cancellation of six races on Tuesday and two races on Wednesday.

The timing of the incidents was particularly unfortunate for Bellewstown, which was marking its 300th anniversary this week. The track is due to race again on September 30th and October 1st.

Explaining the sequence of events, racecourse manager Jessica Cahalan said: “The problem area is about four furlongs from the finish, an area we would call the west bend. It is where the flat and National Hunt tracks intersect.

“After things went awry on Tuesday evening, a plan was put in place to ensure that the ground was safe for Wednesday’s National Hunt card. The track was watered, there was sand put out, and we were happy that racing could go ahead safely.”

Tuesday’s meeting offered free admission and the Bellewstown directors decided to again open the gates on Wednesday as a goodwill gesture.

“We had a fabulous crowd. The weather was gorgeous. It was a family day, and everything was going swimmingly until, all of a sudden, it wasn’t,” Cahalan reported.

“The first five races passed off without incident, but then in the sixth race we had a faller in the same area. The rider involved felt it was unsafe and that couldn’t be ignored. The stewards made the decision, reluctantly in their words, to abandon the final two races and everybody accepted that.

”Widely praised”

An IHRB spokesperson added: “The IHRB clerk of the course and Bellewstown groundstaff had overseen a programme of ground preparation and watering in the weeks leading up to the fixture that produced good to yielding, good in places for flat racing, which was widely praised by many stakeholders for its condition and appearance prior to racing.

“Unfortunately, one part of the track in particular on the middle of the bend out of the backstraight and before the home straight, one horse slipped in the opening race. This was reviewed after the race and the views of a delegation of senior jockeys were taken on board, with some remedial work carried out prior to race two.

“Unfortunately, despite this work, another horse slipped up and came down during race two at the same point of the track, bringing down another horse. In the circumstances, the raceday stewards had no option but to abandon the rest of the fixture.

“Immediately after racing, an inspection of the track in the area of concern took place to try to identify the cause of the slippages. Representatives of Bellewstown groundstaff, the IHRB, the IRTA and IJA were all present. While it could not be definitively established why the horses had slipped, the immediate matter to be decided was whether National Hunt racing on Wednesday could proceed.

“The inspection team looked at the National Hunt racing line, which was inside the flat line at that part of the track and were all in agreement that the ground was suitably kind on that line. The National Hunt line would have also received more water in the previous week than the flat line.

Watering resumed

“In addition to that, it also began raining just before 6pm on Tuesday evening and watering was to recommence early Wednesday morning.

“The decision among all those present was taken that it would not have been appropriate to cancel Wednesday’s fixture and it was agreed that the clerk of the course would keep everything under review on Wednesday and, if there were any concerns, he would be in a position to call an inspection if necessary.

“On Wednesday morning, watering was carried out as scheduled, 6mm of rain had fallen since 6pm on Tuesday and sand was applied to the bend and the clerk of the course was satisfied that racing could proceed on going described as good, good to yielding in places for NH racing.

“The first five races were run without incident in that area and in the sixth race unfortunately a horse did slip up and, having reviewed the incident, the stewards made the correct decision to abandon the final two races on the card as they could not be satisfied that racing could continue due to safety concerns.

“Management at the track have engaged fully with the IHRB since Tuesday evening and again following the abandonment of Wednesday’s card and a full review will take place over the coming weeks.

“Part of that review will see Bellewstown consult with an agronomist to assist in investigating what is required for the fixtures on September 30th and October 1st to take place. We will continue to engage with the team at Bellewstown and we fully expect that whatever caused this unprecedented incident can be addressed to allow racing to continue at the track.”