Curley and McCririck in TV barney
Curley appeared on At The Races following his horse’s disappointing run in the Association Of Post Natal Illness Handicap Hurdle.
Cristoforo, who was forecast to be a hot favourite, drifted on the betting exchanges throughout the morning and also eased in the on-course market.
The eight-year-old was never travelling well for Paul Moloney and was pulled up before the final flight.
McCririck believed the matter should have been referred to the Jockey Club for investigation by the local stewards.
He and presenter Luke Harvey discussed the performance on TV, and were then involved in an altercation with an irate Curley.
The trainer said: “The problem is you casting reflections on me. You (McCririck) are downgrading racing, pouring out for inquiries, and you’re always pumping up things.
“He has drifted and he’s run exactly like another one of mine (Lillebror) at Plumpton three weeks ago. Of course the stewards are looking into it. Don’t you worry, the Jockey Club are well organised.
“I didn’t back the horse. I was afraid after my horse ran badly at Plumpton. Some of my horses are not right, they are running diabolical.
“The horse at Plumpton pulled up at the same stage, ran the same sort of race.
“It’s a disgrace what you are saying, about Paul Scotney (the Jockey Club’s head of security) and the Jockey Club.”
He also had harsh words for ex-jockey Harvey and studio-based pundit Matt Chapman.
McCririck countered: “I didn’t say anything was wrong, I have asked for an inquiry, that’s all I’m saying.”
Added Curley: “It’s an absolute disgrace. The horse ran terrible and I’m as disappointed as anybody else. It couldn’t have been the ground. He was beaten too far out.”
Cristoforo, the forecast 8-13 favourite in the Racing Post, opened at 2-1 on course and drifted out to 3-1 before being returned at 11-4 second-best. The horse drifted from evens to just over 3-1 on the exchanges.
He was well behind at halfway despite Moloney’s urgings and was pulled up before the final flight in the race won by Jacks Craic.
The stewards held an inquiry and ordered Cristoforo to have a routine dope test, but they did not refer the case to Jockey Club headquarters.
McCririck said later: “Barney Curley himself, in the contretemps, agreed that there should be a proper Jockey Club inquiry.
“Paul Scotney, I appeal to you. In the public interest, hold an inquiry, look into the betting patterns, see who laid the horse, who gained from the horse’s defeat.
“What are the Folkestone stewards doing? Everybody at the track is talking about it. For the transparency of racing, there should be an inquiry.”
McCririck was later able to joke: “It got a bit heated with Barney Curley, but it was nothing compared to facing Jackie Stallone in the ‘Big Brother’ house.”
Jockey Club PR director John Maxse believes the Folkestone stewards did their job.
He said: “Immediately after the race, Paul Moloney reported to the stewards that the horse had run flat. The stewards called in Barney Curley to ask for his explanation and he reiterated Moloney’s report and that he could not add anything else.”
