The incident took place at the Curragh in Ireland on Saturday when the handler ran back in front of the stalls to retrieve something just as the starter released the gates
The stall handler runs back in front of the stalls
A stall handler miraculously escaped serious injury after he was knocked down by a 23-runner field. The incident took place in the last race, a 7f handicap, of the card at the Curragh on Saturday.
All the horses had been placed in their stalls waiting for the starter to release the gates when suddenly one of the handlers ran back in front of the structure. Almost immediately the gates open and, with no time for anyone to react, the horses exit and plough straight into the stranded handler, knocking him to the ground. The scary moment was captured by a bystander and posted on social media.
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Shane McLoughlin, who posted the footage said: “Hard to down a Dara park man, not a bother on Johnny Brophy after it. I’ll tell you he’ll be sore in the morning.”
Explaining what had happened, he added: “His silk off his helmet got caught in the gate and he decided to go back for it. He grand just sore , not a bother on him.”
The Curragh stewards held an inquiry to establish what had happened.
The report said: “The Raceday Stewards enquired into the circumstances whereby a stall handler crossed in front of the stalls as they opened and was subsequently knocked to the ground.”
The panel heard evidence from the senior starter Joe Banahan, the stall handler’s team leader Emmanuel Behan and James Ryan, rider of Royal Impact whose mount struck the handler.
“Mr Banahan stated that he followed the correct procedure and started the race and was surprised to see a stall handler crossing in front of the horses as the gates opened,” the report continued.
“Mr Behan confirmed that the correct procedures were carried out and unfortunately a stall handler had dropped something in front of the stalls and turned back to pick it up without warning. He confirmed that the gentleman was uninjured by the incident. “J.J.G. Ryan stated that a stall handler appeared from his left and that his mount knocked him down causing his horse to stumble and there was nothing he could do about it.
“Having considered the matter, the Raceday Stewards referred the matter to a Senior Racing Official for further investigation under the provisions of Rule 14(ii)(b).”
