THE Racing League in Britain is finely poised at the halfway stage after Wales & The West whittled away The East’s lead on a rainy night at Chepstow, when things were also delayed by a flock of sheep straying on to the racetrack. Ireland endured a difficult evening after David O’Meara’s five runners failed to make it to the track due to a broken down horsebox.

Team manager Kevin Blake said on ATR: “It has been a grim evening. It is just one of those black swan events. For it to happen when you are really relying on one trainer, with five out of our 13 declarations, is pretty disastrous. I spoke to David earlier and he said we’ll get it back at Newcastle and Southwell.”