Chaos as runaway horse narrowly avoids panicked punters at Stratford Races

The unbridled fun and excitement of a day at the races quickly turned to panic as a runaway horse wreaked havoc at Stratford this weekend.

Break Point was a 100-1 outsider in Saturday’s opening race but has become the main talking point of the entire event after unseating jockey Philip Armson at the first flight in the 2m½f novice hurdle.

Punters at the Warwickshire racecourse were left frantically running for safety as the Derek Shaw-trained Break Point broke free from the track and careered it’s way into the packed-out enclosure.

Extraordinary footage shows the five-year-old horse bursting through a gap before proceeding to trot its way through an unsuspecting crowd, somehow managing to avoid hitting a single racegoer.

Several loud shrieks and screams can be heard in the background of the 17-second clip, which has spread like wildfire across social media.

A switched-on member of the racetrack’s staff eventually managed to guide Break Point down a chute between the paddock and the pre-parade ring.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported but the incident been referred to the head office of the British Horseracing Authority.

The Stratford stewards report said: ‘An enquiry was held to consider the circumstances surrounding a loose running Break Point, trained by Derek Shaw, which had unseated Philip Armson, and had entered a public enclosure during the race.

‘The clerk of the course was interviewed and shown recordings of the incident.

‘After hearing the evidence, a report was forwarded to the Head Office of the British Horseracing Authority for further consideration.’

As Break Point was ushered away from the crowd, St Pancras (1/5), ridden by Kevin Brogan, romped home in first to claim the £4,901 prize.

Dambuster (4/1) and Pomeriggio (125/1) finished second and third respectively behind St Pancras.

The winning horse, trained by Tony Lawes, also came out on top at last month’s Scottish Triumph Hurdle before claiming a runners-up finish in the Adonis Juvenile Hurdle.

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