One of the more bizarre situations on a New Zealand racecourse played out at Thursday's Otaki-Maori meeting.
The start of the Rating 85 mile was held up with five of the six runners milling around behind the barrier when the float transporting the Raymond Connors-trained contender On The Hill arrived and the horse was off-loaded near the 1600 metre start.
However, On The Hill was subsequently reloaded and taken through the normal channels to link up with jockey Rebecca Goldsbury in the birdcage to belatedly canter to the start.
"Raymond Connors rang when he was at Levin to say he had been delayed and he said he didn't mind if we scratched the horse," stipendiary steward Neil Goodwin said.
"He thought he would be there on time and it was only a six horse field so I thought Raymond deserved a fair go.
"He was doing his best and I spoke to the club and the TAB and there were no other races it was going to interfere with."
Leniency was extended toward Connors with Rule 625 (1) stating "a horse shall be in the birdcage not later than the time fixed by the stipendiary stewards (being the time specified in the club's race book or as otherwise specified by NZTR)."
"At three o'clock we were going to scratch the horse and then we saw the truck coming down the road - I just didn't think it was that big a deal," Goodwin said.
The race eventually started seven minutes late with On The Hill finishing third. – NZ Racing Desk.
The start of the Rating 85 mile was held up with five of the six runners milling around behind the barrier when the float transporting the Raymond Connors-trained contender On The Hill arrived and the horse was off-loaded near the 1600 metre start.
However, On The Hill was subsequently reloaded and taken through the normal channels to link up with jockey Rebecca Goldsbury in the birdcage to belatedly canter to the start.
"Raymond Connors rang when he was at Levin to say he had been delayed and he said he didn't mind if we scratched the horse," stipendiary steward Neil Goodwin said.
"He thought he would be there on time and it was only a six horse field so I thought Raymond deserved a fair go.
"He was doing his best and I spoke to the club and the TAB and there were no other races it was going to interfere with."
Leniency was extended toward Connors with Rule 625 (1) stating "a horse shall be in the birdcage not later than the time fixed by the stipendiary stewards (being the time specified in the club's race book or as otherwise specified by NZTR)."
"At three o'clock we were going to scratch the horse and then we saw the truck coming down the road - I just didn't think it was that big a deal," Goodwin said.
The race eventually started seven minutes late with On The Hill finishing third. – NZ Racing Desk.