An enquiry was held to consider whether Mr William Easterby, the rider of Gogo Baloo (GB), which was pulled up approaching the second fence in the back straight on the final circuit, had continued in the race when his horse appeared to have gone lame.

The rider and the Veterinary Officer were interviewed and recordings of the incident were viewed.

The Veterinary Officer stated that the mare was lame on its right fore and slightly lame on its left fore.

Easterby explained that Gogo Baloo (GB) had stumbled rounding the bend going out into the back straight, but she had handled the bend in a similar fashion on the previous circuit, so he had put this down to the loose ground.

He added that, although the mare began to drop away at this point, Gogo Baloo (GB) is inclined to race lazily and it was not until he went over the course crossing immediately before the second fence in the back straight that he felt the mare go wrong, whereupon he pulled Gogo Baloo (GB) up as quickly as he could.

His explanation was accepted.

The winner, Houndscourt (IRE), appeared to show an improvement in form compared with its previous run at Wetherby on 4 January 2019, where the gelding finished third of eight, beaten 28 lengths.

Joanne Foster’s representative explained that Houndscourt (IRE) appreciated the return to Market Rasen and benefitted from a more experienced jockey on this occasion, having been run in an amateur riders’ race last time out.

Following the race, Sean Bowen reported that Carlo Rocks (IRE), placed fourth, jumped poorly.