Horse Racing: Four Horses Killed at Wincanton

Four horses were killed at Wincanton yesterday and Jay Harris, a conditional jockey, was airlifted to Yeovil hospital after his mount was brought down in the day's third race. After a Cheltenham Festival at which only two horses suffered fatal injuries, a drop of 80% on the previous year, it was a grim reminder of the danger that can strike at any time and on any racecourse.

Wincanton is a flat, easy track without the stern reputation of Cheltenham or the Grand National course at Aintree. However, two runners were killed in the Elite Racing Novice Hurdle, the third event on a seven-race card with a total of 93 runners, in the same incident that saw Harris taken to hospital with abdominal and facial injuries.

Warlord, ridden by the conditional jockey Daryl Jacob, fell in the back straight and brought down Harris's mount, Stars In His Eyes, who dislocated a pastern and was destroyed. Warlord, who was concussed in the fall, was sedated and put down without getting to his feet. Jacob, however, walked away from the melee unscathed.

The next horse to suffer a fatal injury was the mare Priests Bridge, who had not raced for 1,283 days and was returning to the track after having a foal last year. She died instantly after falling at the second fence in the following race, a novice chase, while Nevsauteur was the final horse to be killed after a bad mistake in the penultimate handicap chase.

Speaking after the meeting, Rebecca Morgan, Wincanton's clerk of the course, could offer no further information about Harris's condition.

The unusual number of fatal injuries at the meeting is at a sensitive time for the sport of National Hunt racing, coming as it does between jumping's two major festivals at Cheltenham and Aintree. Many casual fans take an interest in jumps racing only at these two big meetings, and while last week's four-day fixture at Cheltenham saw nothing like the 10 fatalities at the same meeting in 2006, yesterday's events will raise awareness of the issues ahead of the Grand National, the sternest test that any horse or rider can face.

The National is now the next big challenge for backers, who experienced the usual peaks and troughs at Cheltenham last week. The victory of Kauto Star in the Gold Cup did at least allow many punters to retreat with their pride intact, however, if not their initial bankroll, and they have nearly four weeks to regroup before the National.

Willie Mullins, a National winner two years ago with Hedgehunter, still has no fewer than six entries in this year's race. "I'd think that Joueur D'Estruval might struggle to get in, and Homer Wells [a 33-1 chance with Ladbrokes] might go to the Irish National instead as the ground could suit him a bit better," Mullins said yesterday. "But apart from that, all the owners are keen to stay in the race, so all being well they would all be confirmed.

"Hedgehunter has top weight but he always goes around there so well, and Bothar Na has been heading for this race since he ran so well when he was favourite for the Fox Hunters' Chase there last year and finished fourth after being hampered by a faller. He was only a seven-year-old, and he jumped the fences so well that we'd be hopeful of a good run from him."

Jamie Spencer, the champion Flat jockey in 2005, will miss the Lincoln Handicap at Newcastle on Saturday week after he was banned for two days by the stewards at Southwell yesterday for using his whip with excessive frequency.