Seventh-placed horse in surprise win after leading runners disqualified

Jockey follows ‘gut instinct’ and jumps over hurdle despite confusing signs

Dharma Rain was handed a surprise victory in a British hurdle race on Sunday after the top six runners were disqualified for racing around a hurdle instead of jumping over it. 

A seventh-placed horse was handed a surprise victory in a British hurdle race on Sunday after the leading six runners were disqualified for racing around a hurdle instead of jumping over it.

Jockey Jack Tudor, riding Dharma Rain, said he followed his “gut instinct” and jumped the third-last hurdle where another horse had pulled up injured.

Stewards held fluorescent yellow arrows to direct runners around the injured horse but all the jockeys except Tudor assumed it was an instruction to avoid the hurdle.

He told Sky Sports: "It was made very unclear, it wasn't done brilliantly at all.

"It looked as if the markers were in the correct position, it was a 50-50 call.

"I jumped it ... the others missed it, but I could see that the markers were behind the hurdle, so I went with my gut instinct and jumped it."

Page Fuller, who was riding Queen Among Kings and in the lead group, thought otherwise.

"The horse broke down at the hurdle, I was further back in the field and from where I was, the markers looked like they were in the hurdle," Fuller said.

"There was a flag being waved ... but until you got around the hurdle, you couldn't see they were behind."

After a thorough investigation, Dharma Rain was declared the winner as the only finisher, but British Horseracing Authority Stewards said no penalties would be imposed, taking into account the poor visibility in the rain.