FONTWELL races has been hit by a huge delay after jockey David Noonan was rushed to hospital.
The rider was said to have been kicked in the face by a horse before the start of the second race at 2.42pm.
Jockey David Noonan has been rushed to hospital after being kicked in the faceGetty
According to a post from Sky Sports Racing on X, Noonan was stretchered into the back of an ambulance.
Grand National-winning rider Mick Fitzgerald was at the track for Sky.
And he explained that there had, confusingly, been a further delay to the delay.
That was as a result of the jockeys questioning the protocol before and after Noonan received the kick.
The third race on the day was due off at 3.12pm but the flag didn’t go down until 3.46pm.
The fourth contest on the jumps card was meant to be off at 3.42pm but the five runners didn’t start until 4.26pm.
Incredibly, there was a further enquiry into the actions of the starter after the first race at 2.12pm.
A false start shambles saw NINE jockeys banned for misconduct.
The stewards’ report read: “The Starter reported that Paddy Hanlon, the rider of BARROW RANGER (IRE), Lewis Saunders, the rider of JACK THE SAVAGE, Callum Pritchard, the rider of LOCKED DOWN LAD, Nathan Howie, the rider of SHANTOU LUCKY (IRE), Harriet Tucker, the rider of INSPECTOR LYNLEY, Jamie Brace, the rider of GHOST PEPPER (IRE), Freddie Mitchell, the rider of BEBSIDE BANTER (IRE), Isabelle Ryder, the rider of HE IS A CRACKER (IRE), and Bradley Harris, the rider of OF CORSE I CAN (FR) had lined up on the second attempt at the start before the Starter had instructed them to do so, thereby causing a false start.
“All jockeys that rode in the race and the Starter were interviewed and shown recordings of the incident.
“Hanlon, Saunders, Pritchard, Howie, Tucker, Brace, Mitchell, Ryder, and Harris were all suspended for 1 day for misconduct at the start.”
Sun Racing will bring you updates on Noonan’s condition when the BHA release a statement.
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