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Sounds like the judge has called the wrong horse as the winner in the photo in the first race at Sandown. A shocking error.
Judge must have backed the “unofficial” runner up
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I backed Spoof, so the result makes no difference to me – but this is a joke. It is perfectly obvious Hurricane Ivor won. I hope his connections appeal and win.
Apparently there is a fault with the equipment and they cannot use the mirror image. I assume that is only a problem on the sprint track.
I think if they have found a problem with the photo finish equipment they have to rely on the judges eyesight!
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highwaysI think One For Rosie was due to calling the result using the first finishing post on the jumps track when it should have been the second post. A silly mistake which was put right.
This is caused partly by defective equipment and partly because the stewards are not prepared to call the winner. Although Hurricane Ivor (1.1 on Betfair in the photo) has clearly won. His backers have been cheated.
From what I can gather perceived wisdom (well OK the Twitterati!) suggests the positioning of the mirror which gives the ‘opposite side view’ in the photo. Mirror wasn’t lined up correctly so the reverse angle wasn’t available and the judge couldn’t confirm from that angle.
Unfortunately I backed the third and would have needed a cross-eyed judge to have any chance…
I was at Garthorpe Point-to-Point in June where the general consensus was the Judge called the wrong winner in one race.
I adjust my expectations when at the Points – they are often run by enthusiastic amateur volunteers of limited calibre and IMO the occasional cock-ups are part of the quaint charm of a Day Between The Flags.
But this is Sandown Park – on Eclipse Day.
It’s just not good enough, really, is it?
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"“But this is Sandown Park – on Eclipse Day.
It’s just not good enough, really, is it?”
No, it is not.
I suppose the only people who gained were those who backed the horse we all know was second. I wonder how many got paid out in full by the on track bookmakers before the result was amended? And even those who did not have still had a lucky win to half their stake.
Hurricane Ivor’s backers have been cheated. The difference between half and full stake at 11/1 is significant, even to small stakes.
At least the defective equipment was only of the separate 5 furlong straight track. Can you imagine the reaction if it had been on the main track and the Eclipse went to a close photo? I doubt the Lads would have been happy if they were denied a Group 1 win by defective equipment.
It really is very poor from Sandown but I suppose no one will be held to account. Unlike jockeys who are quickly dealt with for minor misdemeanors with punishments that are arguably disproportionate to the offence.
On the contrary it is likely that the course management will be held to account by the BHA.
A Stewards’ Enquiry was held and the text from the Report is as follows:
‘An enquiry was held into the circumstances surrounding the correction of the placings of HURRICANE IVOR (IRE) and PHOENIX STAR (IRE) in Race 1. The Judge, the Photo Finish Operator and a Steward were interviewed. Having heard their evidence, it was established that a distortion of the mirror, that was not identified until after the Provisional Result had been called, led to an inaccurate mirror image on the Photo Finish. As a result, the Judge could not use the mirror image when reviewing the Photo Finish, so with insufficient evidence from the Field Image to accurately split HURRICANE IVOR (IRE) and PHOENIX STAR (IRE), a dead-heat for first was called. The Stewards further enquired in order to ascertain the possible reasons for the Photo Finish mirror being distorted. A report was forwarded to the Head Office of the British Horseracing Authority for further consideration.’
Bear in mind that the Stewards work independently from course and judge.
The inaccurate mirror being a convenient excuse for the Judge to fudge and save face by calling a Dead Heat having originally named Phoenix Star the winner. It’s human nature.
Couldn’t rule that out, but the judge has to justify it to the BHA. Having seen the photo from the normal angle it looked reasonably clear that Hurricane Ivor had won.
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