Ano Manna was disqualified after winning at Killarney this afternoon.
It emerged the wrong horse ran in the Tote.ie handicap at 3.05. Ano Manna was subsequently declared a non runner & the race went to initial runner-up Bang Po, ridden by Donagh O’Connor and trained by Ross O’Sullivan.
A handling mix up meant a stable with two horses on the card ran the wrong horse in the wrong race which in turn duly went on to win. On inspection the mix-up was identified and the horse was disqualified by the stewards.
The trainer involved, John Feane, was fined €3,000 by the stewards and held his hands up over the incident. He told Racing TV: "It's human error. I was unfortunately delayed getting to the races. I was stuck in traffic and got here ten minutes late. I have apologised to the owners, this has cost everyone money. The wrong horse was tacked up and I noticed the error immediately when I arrived in the stable yard. It's history now, but people study history to discover where things go wrong. At point-to-points we scan every horse before they go into the parade ring. Maybe in the future it might help trainers and stable staff if that was brought in at race meetings instead of just scanning the winner after the race. But on saying that, I'm not blaming anyone bar myself. I've accepted the fine. I have the right to appeal but I'm not going to. I would like to apologise as sincerely as I can to the punters and the owners. I will put this behind me and go forward."
Killarney winners
1.55 Naval Force 13/2
2.30 Simpsons Paradox 10/3
3.05 Bang Po 10/1
3.35 Gambe Veloci 7/2
4.10 Rubydooby 5/2jf
4.45 Timeless Piece 15/2
5.20 Dream Escape 9/5
