Vets took an unusual course of action after a jockey became trapped under his horse when she fell.
Niall Houlihan, 24, was riding Stop This Train in the Greene King Handicap Chase at Fakenham on Tuesday.
The Sarah Humphrey-trained mare raced prominently for a long way but she has dropped out of contention when she came down at the final fence. Houlihan was caught under the stricken horse, unable to extricate himself. So vets gave an anaesthetic to Stop This Train so the jockey could be extricated, according to RacingTV.
After a lengthy delay while teams worked behind a green screen both horse and jockey were able to get back on their feet and walk away.
The 3.45 race was eventually run at 4.30pm, 45 minutes late. RacingTV reporter Tom Bull explained what had happened to viewers.
“The whole reason behind the delay was that jockey Niall Houlihan had to be extricated from underneath the horse because he got trapped,” he said.
“The horse had to be anaesthetised and therefore vets had to wait until Stop This Train came around before they could assess her.
“Now they have assessed her. The screens came down and she has been led back very slowly through the parade ring towards the boxes. She was moving pretty slowly and pretty uneasily but hopefully she will be okay.”
Pundit Dan Barber, who was working with Bull, said the mare was attended by vets who held onto her head and tail to keep her still.
“It was like watching a couple of surgeons at work,” he said. Houlihan was stood down for the rest of the day and replaced on his other rides.
Staff were praised for their efforts with one fan on X saying, “Amazing care from all concerned giving Stop This Train every chance here at Fakenham Mare now led gingerly from course, crowd dutifully remaining silent to calm her as much as possible. Fingers crossed.”