THE Jockey Club has put up a spirited defence of the decision by the Ludlow stewards on Wednesday to allow a race to stand, even though the finishers jumped a different number of fences.

A 65 minute inquiry followed the Chase Meredith Memorial Trophy Hunters' Chase won by Oaklands Word, after an incident at the fifth fence from the finish.

The obstacle was dolled off with orange markers and a chevron directing the field round it after Lawrence Squire had fallen from Watchit Lad on the first circuit.

By the time the runners had reached the fence on the final circuit, however, Squire was in the back of the racecourse ambulance and the ground staff were in the process of removing the warning signs. Although the directional marker had been removed the orange markers remained in place.

West Quay, who finished second, was the only one of five horses to jump the fence, with his rivals choosing to bypass it. Despite the anomaly, the officials let the result stand, much to the confusion of racegoers who felt that either West Quay or the other four should be disqualified.

West Quay's trainer Tim Long and rider Joe Creighton bad pledged to contest the decision, but the Jockey Club's John Maxse reported yesterday. "There has been no word of an appeal so far today. A report is on its way from the Ludlow stewards, along with a recording of the race.

"The stewards had a very strange set of circumstances before them. The chevron sign was moved as the field approached and the bottom line is that stewards could not apportion blame to any particular jockey, so they allowed the result to stand.

"But the rules permit for that decision to be made. They came into being for the protection of horses and riders, and it is possible in exceptional circumstances for the finishers of a race not to have jumped the same number of fences.

If two horses are clear together and one of them falls, then the remaining runners are signalled round the obstacle, so there are definitely circumstances in which that situation could occur.