THERE was an abrupt end to Wednesday’s flat card at Gowran Park when the final race was abandoned due to jockey concerns over slippages in what was scheduled to be the penultimate race on the card.

Shortly after the field went past the stands and turned out on their full circuit for the mile-and-six-furlong handicap won by Willie McCreery’s front-running Earthsong, there was a potentially nasty spill for jockey Donagh O’Connor when his mount Eternal Echo slipped on the bend. Thankfully, it was reported that he appeared to walk away from the incident and the David O’Sullivan-trained outsider galloped away with the rest of the pack.

However, when the riders returned to the weighing room after the contest, several reported to the clerk of the scales that their mounts had slipped.

Ben Coen, rider of the ninth-placed Miss Gitana, said his mare “slipped at the bend past the stands”, champion jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle rode well-beaten 9/2 co-favourite Master Sydney but explained that his mount “nearly fell on the first bend”.

O’Connor officially reported that Eternal Echo “slipped up independently at the first bend”, while apprentice Sadhbh Tormey (rider of seventh-placed Celtic Druid) said the 5/1 shot “slipped, stumbled and unseated her after the line.”

Senior rider Shane Foley went a step further in his concerns and told the clerk of the scales that “the ground was dangerously slippy”.

Soon after, the raceday stewards met with a delegation of senior riders, the IHRB clerk of the course Paddy Graffin, the IHRB Doctor and racecourse manager Eddie Scally to inspect the bend in question past the stands.

A note in the stewards’ report noted that following the inspection, “in the interest of safety for both horse and rider”, the stewards made the decision to abandon the final race.