In the end the disruption didn’t amount to much; a solitary protester making it on to the course, down by the furlong pole to jeers and heckles from the grandstand. Luckily, or unluckily for him depending on how much he was channelling his inner suffragette, the 14-strong field of horses was a mile away at the time and despite leading security a merry but brief dance, capture by several course staff was inevitable. He was dragged back under the inner rail from where he’d come, then sat upon until the 56 hooves had thundered past and he could be led away.
As the horses and riders swept around Tattenham Corner, a vast and otherwise empty straight of lush green grass stretched ahead and Auguste Rodin, under Ryan Moore, led them all home to mark another triumph for trainer Aidan O’Brien. In the aftermath of the race the Animal Rising protest group tweeted that the race had started despite assurances from the Jockey Club that it would not get under way if there were any activists illegally trespassing on the track.
