Tom Marquand Unseated on 10-11 Favourite Al Hudaiba at Yarmouth

tom marquand was unseated from Al Hudaiba just inside the final furlong in the British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes at Yarmouth on Thursday. The 10-11 favourite had victory in sight, but Byzantine went on to win after the rider came off.

Al Hudaiba At Yarmouth

Al Hudaiba had already won on debut at Newmarket 13 days earlier, and he was moving up on Byzantine, ridden by Billy Loughnane, when the race turned. Just inside the final furlong, the colt jinked sharply to the right and threw Marquand from the saddle.

The race caller said, "Al Hudaiba has jinked and unseated the rider. Drama inside the furlong." The incident left Byzantine in the clear, and the horse completed the finish in front after the favourite lost his rider in the final 100 yards.

Marquand And Doyle

Marquand later said, "It was bizarre. He was stepping towards Billy who was on his left. I went for a bit of a regrab to get him rolling and he just stepped the opposite way pretty sharp. At least he’s all right and I got up all right too." He also joked, "I was wondering if there were double beds in hospitals as I might have joined Hollie. Luckily I’m alright."

That line carried extra weight because Hollie Doyle, his wife, was in hospital after breaking her left leg in a fall at Bath last Friday and was awaiting further surgery for a complex fracture to the tibia and fibula. The stewards reported that no other horse or rider was involved, and their note said the colt initially drifted left-handed before sharply ducking right-handed and unseating the rider.

William Haggas Double

Marquand was back in the winners' enclosure two races later to complete a double for William Haggas, but he was then stood down from his final ride by the racecourse doctor. For backers of Al Hudaiba, the collapse turned a winning move into a missed chance in the closing strides.