A jockey was unlucky not to win a race after taking the final fence sideways without stirrups.
The Uttoxeter drama began when Nathan Moscrop lost one of his irons on the approach to the obstacle, riding Storm Lorenzo. His mount, 3-1 in the betting, jumped cleanly but to the right and the jockey's foot slipped out of the piece of tack.
Moscrop, on his only ride of the afternoon, reached down to put it back in, however the stirrup kept moving with the momentum of the horse. While he was trying to recover, Storm Lorenzo slowed in his pursuit of the 5-6 favourite Judge Earle.
Moscrop appeared to kick his other foot out of the iron and simultaneously horse and rider became unbalanced. As he steered right, he slipped to the side of the horse who pricked his ears and took the last jump boldly. Defying gravity, Moscrop held on tightly to the reins and pushed forward on landing.
Showing excellent balance, the rider encouraged his horse to gallop on and they finished fast to get within three quarters of a length of the winner.
"He's done very well not to fall off!" said commentator David Fitzgerald. "But the race is Judge Earle's here, with in second position chasing hard Storm Lorenzo. (He) is closing on Judge Earle, but Judge Earle gets there.
"Ooh dramatic conclusion..!"
Judge Earle was ridden to victory by jockeys' championship leader Sean Bowen in the Brown's Trade Waste Collections Novices' Handicap Chase.
It was the sportsman's ninth success from his last 25 races – a strike rate of 36 per cent.
But favourite backers were rather fortunate to be collecting their winnings on this occasion.
"Sean Bowen lucky to win that me thinks!" wrote one punter on Twitter.
And another added: "Storm Lorenzo the moral winner."
Reigning champion jockey Brian Hughes drew a blank on the card at the Staffordshire venue. One of his rides, the second-placed You Name Him, is a stablemate of Storm Lorenzo. Chasing a hat-trick for his new connections, the hurdler was outpointed by the outsider of four, Imperial Sachin's.
It kept up the good run of Fergal O'Brien, who leads the trainers' standings in the early stages of the jumps season.
