Stewards held an enquiry after a deer ran in front of horses and jockeys during a race at Newcastle Racecourse on Friday afternoon. The incident occurred as the runners, including Level Look, Asia Force, New Bay Star and Choir Boy, were approaching the end of their 1m 2f event.
Jockeys Jason Watson, Pierre-Louis Jamin, Oliver Stammers and Cam Hardie were in the drive position and only yards away from the animal when it made a surprise appearance. Fortunately, the deer was moving at a fair speed and managed to get out of the way as the horses hurtled down the track.
The Andrew Balding-trained Level Look won the race, steered two-and-three-quarter lengths ahead of hot favourite Asia Force by Watson. Acting clerk of the course Joe Gibson said two deer spotters were in position during the race, but the spotter closest to the deer was a bit further along the track than usual.
'Usually when they see one they radio to whoever is clerk of the course on the day. We have held up races when deer have appeared on numerous occasions in the past,' Gibson told Mirror Racing. 'We are aware it could cause something quite serious so that's why we have the spotters and we are always looking at what else we can do.'
This is not the first time deer have caused disruption at Newcastle. In 2018, two deer were spotted running in front of the field during a 1m4f contest, and three years later jockey Jason Hart had to swerve to avoid a four-legged intruder. The stewards' report from Friday's enquiry noted that the area where the deer appeared would be monitored in future.
