Wrong horse wins race at 50-1 after 'unprecedented cock-up'

Punters at one British racecourse were left bemused on Thursday afternoon after a bizarre mix-up in which a 50-1 outsider apparently romped to a shock victory.

Racegoers cheered as two-year-old Mandarin Princess, trained by Charlie McBride, somehow won the 1.40 race at Great Yarmouth after beating Fyre Cay. But a subsequent scan revealed that the horse was not Mandarin Princess at all, but her stablemate, three-year-old Millie's Kiss, who had been due to run in the 3.15pm race.

Stewards have referred the matter to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), and The Times says that racing's governing body has launched an enquiry into how the wrong horse won a race at odds of 50-1.

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The paper says that the BHA has let the result stand for betting purposes but "some bookmakers have said they will pay out on the horses finishing first and second".

Describing the incident as "unprecedented" in the 18 years since the microchipping identification system was introduced, the BHA issued a statement in which they said: "The scan identified the horse to be Millie's Kiss, the trainer's other runner in race four. They (the stewards) interviewed the trainer, the stable groom, the veterinary officer and the equine welfare integrity officer responsible for the sampling unit. Having heard their evidence they referred the matter to the head office of the British Horseracing Authority and ordered Millie's Kiss to be withdrawn from race four."

Explaining how the confusion may have occurred when the horses were brought into the stables at the course, stipendiary steward Tony McGlone said: "These two horses, trained by Charlie McBride, were given a box each. Mr McBride went over to the weighing room to collect the saddle and was slightly delayed collecting it. He rushed over. The stable girl had taken the horse out of the stables and put it in the saddling boxes. Mr McBride put the saddle on, the horse ran, it won. We then sent the horse for routine testing as normal and the veterinary officer scanned the horse and found it to be the incorrect horse."

The jockey who rode the horse he thought was Mandarin Princess, John Egan, spoke of his surprise at the discovery, saying: "At the end of the day, we're all human. Mistakes happen. I feel most sorry for Charlie."

The Times reported that McBride was unavailable for comment but the BHA statement made it clear where the fault lay.

"The responsibility lies with the trainer to present and run the correct horse in the race," said the statement. "Having said that, and while we have not seen an incident of this nature in recent times, we will of course determine what steps need to be put in place to prevent it from happening again. We sympathise with the betting operators and betting public who have potentially been affected by this incident."

According to BBC racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght, says the BHA want to make sure there was no sinister intent, but he says it "looks more like a cock-up than anything else".

Both horses are bay coloured fillies, which may have added to the confusion, but nonetheless Lysaght said that McBride can expect to receive a "substantial fine" for the error whatever the outcome of their enquiry.