4 weeks ago
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A renowned trainer has been hailed a hero after distracting a rogue horse which had broken free from its attendant and was galloping towards other entrants on the track mid-race.
Morphettville trainer Darryl Carrison was watching one of his own runners in the first race when he acted on instinct in truly astonishing scenes from Quorn in South Australia on Saturday.
Carrison - who has trained more than 400 winners in his decorated career - noticed After, a late scratching from the first race, was suddenly riderless.
A 'complete disaster' was about to unfold if After wasn't quickly distracted.
'I was (frantically) waving my jumper to get it off the rail so it would go out wide,' Carrison told News Corp.
'I made it veer off the track. I reckon he would have met them (the other horses) if I hadn't done that at about 50 metres in front of the winning post.
Trainer Darryl Carrison (pictured left) has been hailed a hero after stopping a rogue horse (right) which had broken free from its attendant and was galloping towards other starters
Carrison's bravery ensured the horse named After (pictured, number 5) was distracted and a 'complete disaster' was avoided on Quorn Cup day in South Australia
'If it was on the rail, half of them wouldn't have seen it, so who knows what would have happened.
'It would have been like a head-on (collision) in my opinion.'
Quorn Jockey Club president Dean Montgomerie also heaped praise on Carrison.
'He is a great horseman, so he had the confidence (to do what he did),' Montgomerie said.
'He showed willingness to divert what could have been a fatal incident.'
Remarkably, no one was harmed during the terrifying incident, with After later returning to the mounting enclosure unhurt.
In an added twist, the Garret Lynch-trained Lai Flipper appeared to have the maiden over 1200 metres sewn up - but stewards later declared the race void.
It meant apprentice Rachael Kraemer, in the first ride of her career, was denied a debut winner.
