Two horses have died after escaping from a field and running against oncoming traffic in Dublin.
The group of seventeen horses had escaped from trainer James McCauley's yard in Naul on Thursday.
And while all of the horses were safely returned, two had to be put down on humane grounds.
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In dashcam footage of the incident obtained by The Racing Post, the horses can be seen galloping at a fast pace down a narrow road.
The first two horses are seen running together, while the rest appear to be moving in single file, all still wearing rugs. Miraculously, nobody was injured and no cars were damaged during the incident.
It is understood that the horses continued for nearly five miles before they were eventually caught and taken back to James McAuley's stables at Naul.
The horses had been taken to their paddock after their morning workout up the gallops and they are believed to have taken fright.
However McAuley, who sadly had to have two of the horses put to sleep due to injuries sustained on the run, said the cause of it remains a mystery.
McCauley told The Racing Post: "They broke through a gate out onto the road and after that it was a bit of a disaster.
"We had 17 horses get loose and 17 came back, but we had to put the two to sleep on humane grounds. There was no damage to cars or anything. How there wasn't I have no idea."
The two horses put down were Godhead, a recent Leopardstown runner-up, and a horse that had yet to race for McCauley, named Da Vinci.
The incident came as a huge shock to McCauley, who was at Gowran Park, where his runner Mischief Star won, when the incident happened.
The other horses have returned with sore feet from galloping on the hard surface, while some have cuts. It is stated that their wellbeing will be monitored at the yard before they are permitted to compete on the track again.
The stable has had 126 runners in 2022, earning almost £80,000 in win and place prize money.
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