A dramatic race at Fontwell saw hot favourite Grain Trade crash out at the final fence, taking two other horses with him and leaving 14-1 shot Majestic Moment to win unchallenged. The 2m 2f handicap chase on Thursday afternoon turned into a one-horse race after the incident, which left jockey Gavin Sheehan unseated and the other two riders, Tom Cannon and Ben Godfrey, also on the turf.
Grain Trade, backed to 4-6 after market rival Dunskay was a non-runner, clipped the top of the final fence and fell, depositing Sheehan. Lord Maher, the second favourite, was unable to avoid the fallen horse and his rider Cannon was dislodged, while Valirann Gold's jockey Godfrey also came off. Majestic Moment, ridden by Bryan Carver, was the only horse still standing and was helped to the line by one of the loose horses, winning a prize of just over £6,000.
Seven runners had started the race, but Yarborough, Mega Speculator and Across The Ocean also failed to complete. Screens were put up while vets attended to Grain Trade, but Sky Sports presenter Alex Hammond later confirmed: 'Grain Trade has just walked out from behind those screens. Thank goodness he was just winded and Gavin Sheehan is walking off with the saddle. All horses and jockeys are OK which is good, good news – phew, that looked like a nasty incident.'
Trainer Dean Summersby, who combines his passion for racing with a quail and duck egg business, saddled the winner. He got off the mark as a licensed handler in June and has previously topped the charts for yards with seven or fewer horses. The incident at Fontwell followed a similar one-horse finish at Ludlow, where outsider D'Jo Dela Barriere was left alone in the Corrie Cup Novices' Limited Handicap Chase, and the meeting was brought to an early end due to concerns about horses slipping.
