The Betfred Derby market was plunged into chaos on Saturday after the big race favourite was declared a non-runner – despite finishing the race.
Benvenuto Cellini, one of four colts trained by Aidan O’Brien, went off at odds of 3-1 under Ryan Moore to win the £2million historic Classic at Epsom. But he broke very slowly, had only one horse behind him descending Tattenham Corner and never featured, trailing in well adrift of winning stablemate Christmas Day.
A stewards inquiry was announced when officials looked into the reasons for Benvenuto Cellini’s slow start. Cameras in the starting stalls revealed that Benvenuto Cellini had his left hind leg stuck on the running board and so exited the structure on three legs.
The hearing considered whether the colt was denied a fair start and as Moore stated he had wanted to race more forward, it was decided he was negatively impacted.
The stewards announced he was a non-runner which resulted in a Rule 4 being declared for betting purposes. It meant all stakes on Benvenuto Cellini were refunded and 25p in the pound was deducted from winnings on Christmas Day.
Bookmaker Jerry White, operating from the Kalooki Racing pitch in the Epsom betting ring, said: “You couldn’t make it up, could you?
View 3 ImagesBenvenuto Cellini (circled) finished down the field but was declared a non-runner
“Something always goes wrong in life but today of all the big stages you wouldn’t want it to happen the Derby favourite is deemed to be a non-runner.
“If you backed it you get your money back. If you backed the winner Christmas Day then you get a 25p in the pound deduction from the winnings.
“For us it was a shocking result as we’ve got to give all the money back on the favourite and we’ve still got to pay all the punters who backed Christmas Day.”
However, a number of high street bookies decided to waive the Rule 4 and not make the deduction, including Coral, Ladbrokes and Boyle Sports, as a goodwill gesture.
“Christmas Day was an apt winner of a Derby that was run in wintry conditions, conditions that very much suited Ronan Whelan’s mount, with punters backing him at all rates from 16-1 down to 7-1, so it was not an unpopular victory by any means,” said Coral’s David Stevens.
View 3 ImagesChristmas Day: bookmakers waived the Rule 4 deduction(Image: Getty Images)
“Benvenuto Cellini was sent off favourite, or at least he would have been had he not been deemed a non-runner, but as a goodwill gesture to our customers, we are waiving the Rule 4 deduction on him, so that winning punters do not lose out on the biggest betting race of the Flat season.”
Chief stipendiary steward Shaun Parker explained: “Soon after the horses had left the starting gates we were notified that the favourite had his left hind leg on the running board, just before the start was affected and as the start was affected which resulted in him not being able to jump on terms with the field, as he was standing on three legs when the stalls opened.
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“We then considered the fact in terms of our rules whether he had been denied a fair start. Having got evidence from Ryan Moore importantly in terms of what the instructions were and where he actually wanted to be in terms of the race.
“He wanted to go forward with the horse. We noticed he was very slow into stride and was second last shortly after the start and really on the back foot. His race was in our view negatively affected. On that basis we can then declare the horse a non-runner.”