Elousie Quayle Orders 20-Minute Halt at Chester Races Today
chester races today paused for 20 minutes after jockeys raised concerns that horses were slipping on the track. The delay came after the opening race, and officials moved quickly to inspect the course before racing could continue.
Clerk of the course Elousie Quayle said a horse named Stratusnine changed legs and slipped on the bend turning for home. She said the incident seemed isolated, but officials still ordered remedial work and a further inspection.
Quayle Orders Track Work
Quayle said sanding was being done on the bend and it was being cut short. The same work was also being carried out on the pulled up bend after the winning line because there were concerns there as well.
“At this stage there is going to be a 20-minute delay while that work is carried out, and then there will be a further inspection,” she said. She added: “Once the work has been carried out we're going to go out and inspect the course again and hopefully continue racing. Stratusnine is fine.”
Tom Marquand and the Slippy Track
ITV showed a clearly unhappy Tom Marquand, while Maureen Haggas said: “The track’s pretty slippy, three or four slipped in the first. Essentially, the ground has quickened up and it’s made it a bit of an ice rink. We’re going to have a look. They’re doing a bit of remedial work and we’ll see if it’s fine to ride on.”
Racegoers on the course were also trying to make sense of the pause. Charlotte Lewis said: “It's not easy to hear on the public address. They said it was a 20-minute delay and we've just rushed out because we thought we were going to miss the next race. What caused the delay?” Scarlet Moody joked after hearing the reason: “Perhaps they'll re-run the first race so my horse has another chance!”
Chester Meeting Delay
The issue came on day two of the May meeting at Chester, after jockeys, trainers and officials held a discussion and an official inspection was called. The immediate next step was plain: finish the sanding, check the course again, and decide whether racing could go on.
