I was being sarcastic Tonge.
I don’t think Townend should be castigated by the armchair warriors with degrees in hindsight.
Unlike us, he didn’t see the extent of the mistake. With adrenaline in full flow, his focus would have been staying onboard, collecting up his horse after losing all momentum and seeing the winning post in front, would know that the other horses would be closing behind.
In the heat of the moment he wouldn’t have been expected to do a full veterinary check up before proceeding.
Watching the race, my first thought when he got going again was, “He’ll be sore in the morning”. Not once did I think the horse had broken his pelvis or back, or would shortly be dead as a result.
Unlike some on here, I don’t know what Townend ‘felt’ from the horse, but I doubt it was, “Bugger, I think he’s broken his back, but I’m going to carry on regardless”.
If he’d immediately pulled the horse up and it had walked back OK, some angry punters would have been demanding answers, if not trying to string him up.