‘Grim’ and bizarre scenes as Willie Mullins’ horse wins by 100 lengths after rival stops to a walk

A HORSE stops to a walk allowing a rival to crawl to victory in this ‘grim’ and bizarre race in Ireland.

Willie Mullins’ former Arkle runner Cash Back won by 100 lengths in an attritional 3m hurdle over heavy ground at Clonmel.

Racing TV

The two horses were neck and neck approaching the second final flight… before conditions took their toll[/caption]

Racing TV

Cash Back wins by 100 lengths in a race labelled ‘grim’ and bizarre by viewers[/caption]

Racing TV

The 3m hurdle reached a bit of a farcical conclusion[/caption]

The going was so tough that runner-up Desert Heather gave up running after the last and simply walked to a finish.

It was the very definition of a slow motion finish with Monishter Are Mwee, the only other horse in the race, finishing some 56 lengths behind the runner-up.

Cash Back was sent off 2-5 fav under jockey Paul Townend and made the running alongside Desert Heather.

But the energy-sapping conditions took their toll late on, with the latter simply having no more in the tank on the run-in.

If you watched the whole race then it was clear to see the end was just three tired horses getting to the end of the brutal race in tough conditions.

But the clip of the horses struggling to get to the finish left a sour taste in the mouth for some.

One person commenting on the race wrote: “Honestly Clonmel call it off, grim viewing!”

Another said the race made for ‘horrible viewing’.

But others maintained the jockeys know when to pull a horse up and, as the ground was deemed raceable, finishes like this can happen in winter.

The victory – 11-year-old Cash Back’s first since January 2022 – was worth it for connections, with the first-place prize being a decent £8,000.

The owners of all three finishers took home some cash for their horse’s efforts.

Winning jockey Townsend said: “He deserved his day again but it was a war of attrition and he’s stayed, plugging away better than anything.

“He enjoyed it, he’s been a good servant and he deserved another day.”

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