Irish racing hits new low with Tramore abandonment farce

IRISH racing hit a new low at Tramore yesterday when the first afternoon of the annual Festival had to be abandoned after the third race.

The slippery conditions turned racing into a lottery. Three horses hit the deck on the bend past the stands in the opening Bank Of Ireland Handicap Hurdle. Sockittothem fell and brought down Adari and Shandy Girl.

The rider of Shandy Girl, Larry Hurley, was removed to hospital with a suspected broken collar-bone, but the other two pilots involved, Adrian Lane and David Evans, escaped relatively unscathed.