What the fack ???

Certainly a ban unless he has a very good lawyer. The red flag is in every fence so that is totally irrelevant. If they were not supposed to jump it there would have been a warning in the middle of the fence.

I've watched racing for over 38 years and I've never seen anything like that in all that time

Bizzare

Will you stop ya bunch of fannys ffs, it's hardly bent, so he threw the race leaving his bosses big rival to win the rtace to stop his boss winning the trainers championship

Any chance anyone would kindly know what price the winner was before the impossible happened or biggest I/R price please ?

If you think there's an innocent explanation for that, you must be out of your mind.

i'm with par. a big red marker on the inside.
can only think that he saw it in that split second and thought the fence was to be omitted

still haven't gone over to Gary yet.

Chance to look again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-4Gu38Mi6U

He could have gone round the fence the other side without taking out FO and endangering himself and his horse.

Taken out the crowd instead?

Fitzy saying it might be the guy in the hedge telling him to go round,comedy gold.

Apr 24, 2018 -- 7:13PM, p_r_e_m_i_e_r__f_a_n_t_a_s_y wrote:

Will you stop ya bunch of fannys ffs, it's hardly bent, so he threw the race leaving his bosses big rival to win the rtace to stop his boss winning the trainers championship

exactly!!! rider is just an idiot - looking round instead of focusing on the job in hand

Fitzy blaming the gay in the hedge walofs

Fitzy blithering out any old cr@p he can think of ......

There was a gap between the fence and the crowd flushy.

why is the right hand flag showing red, left hand showing white?

The way he looked round it would make sense if it was someone who shouted to go round,'s when Townend looked round he saw the others tight on the inside and must've assumed they were going round as well

fool proof
24 Apr 18 19:15

Fitzy blaming the gay in the hedge walofs

Cottaging at Punchestown

Looking at the video again, all the remaining horses were on his inside, he may have heard another jockey geeing his horse along, had looked to his right and thought the others were going round the fence.  He has panicked and tried to go round himself.

Incompetence at best, and long suspension awaits

townend given 21 day ban for dangerous riding.

Irish racing funded by taxpayer and jock won't talk to media

21 day ban,surely means sod all at this time of year.

Fitz ha ha ha ha

21 days should be longer than that shirley.

Mick talking as if someone died ffs

Irish racing is a joke.

somebody should be coming out and explaining what Paul thought he heard or saw to make him try to bypass the fence, it does not have to be Paul himself, nobody with a sound mind thinks he did it as some sort of skulduggery but an explanation should be given

Part of the reason why it is a joke premier.

I'm done with horse racing ,see you tomorrow....

Fitz talking scutter....again

If Ruby retires, who is going to be number 1 for Willie next year?

He won't be on that again will he?

Why don't they void race ?

Crowd look completely stunned on vthst video clip .

Either one of the jockeys in-behind has stitched Paul up or the race was bent. Either way, it's not a good advert for Irish racing

veil of silence has descended on punchestown. 

everyone talks to gary, nobodys talking to gary ...

Anyone who seriously thinks that was bent really shouldn't be wasting sane people's oxygen.

The jockey made an extremely stupid error and it has happened before and sure as hell will happen again.

End of.

These two on ATR mute button coming.

Why do cretins cry bent whenever anything happens regardign the horse they backed. Almost as bigger idiots as that clown Townend.

Pilot brain f@rt pure and simple.

and you can't void a race just because someone takes the wrong course and someone else profits from it (not me, I backed ABP)....just get real please

It's not "End Of" just because you say it is Madhat

madhatter forgive me for saying this were you looking at the same race where is the jock and why can't the Stewards say something on the telly? 21 days is hopeless you could not make that up at a premier jump meeting.

It's not exactly unknown for people to get away with breathtaking skulduggery in Ireland.

jockey has made a mistake get over it

never underestimate anyone ...

If that had happened at Cheltenham what would have been the result?

Apart from the obvious.

townend, power,nullins don't want to comment.
all gutless.

at cheltenham the result would have stood....the jockey woud have probably got a greater punishment but the result would have stood.

mullins.

you cant take the race away from The Storyteller's connections...it's not their fault they won

I've got a feeling Davy won't be on Paul's Christmas card list this year!

not one for the photo album....carnage!

it was stupid and dangerous but beyond that it is inexplicable..jockey probably had a brain fade and panicked...sometimes it happens with car drivers and as a result accidents happen

obviously others in the race suffered although i doubt elliott (or russell) are complaining

he has been punished although whether the punishment is sufficient is debatable...i doubt mullins or anyone else wants to comment this evening as they need to comprehend what happened themselves and reflect on it without coming out with immediate words they might later regret

there will still be racing tomorrow so life carries on

If he'd wanted to stop the horse, then he'd have done it in a much more easy way than that, simples.

Still an awful ride/mistake of course.

I don't think it was bent but when a senior jockey does something like that without a valid excuse ( was the horse lame-don't think so) then he should get a 3 month ban minimum and I am not normally a jockey basher. He has deprived not just his own connections but those of Finians as well of a Group 1 win plus thousands of punters money. I can't believe that Davy would have told him to miss the fence.

He's seen the red flag hasn't he, looked round then gone to go round the fence, probably expecting Finians to go around it too.

Don't think it was skullduggery

His confidence will be shattered and he has some fancied mounts for Mullins tomorrow.

I had laid it, so was watching the horse for the whole race - the jock made some serious efforts to put it in position to win the race (not something you can always or often say in Irish jumps races).

The irony is that this ride was probably not at all bnt, when so many others are.

confidence was shattered when he saw mullins giving un de sceaux a proper ride an hour earlier ....

An explanation is needed. The fact that we have not had one yet makes you think they may be trying to concoct some excuse to mitigate what was obviously one of the stupidest things seen in a top class race. Punches town more like Punch and Judy with that farce.

Big mart had his toolbar in the way he was repairing the kickboard damaged on the first circuit

Still Learning
There is a red flag on the inside wing of EVERY fence.

Met p t at cheltenham
Not impressed
Bottled it , nearly killed himself
Full story will come out
Davy might be at the bottom of this , done before

Would anybody put their life on it being 100% straight?

Oh ok saxon didn't know that. That theory is out of the window, then!

Didnt have a bet but sure this has been done before

Dodgy betting patterns to follow .....1.01 nap

Davy laighing hisbollox offer

Jeez I love a good conspiracy theory as much as anyone but some people need to have a lie down.

He had to get that beat

Or

He has proved himself a bad jockey

did n't have a bet in the race but it's Finians Oscar and Power I feel sorry for - jumped better than at Aintree and surely would have motored to the line...

P t must have been under some pressure

He jumps the last in front day in day out

So where did the pressure come from ?

It was the best way to stop it alright, in front of everyone at the last. Doing his best and staying onboard on the far side when squeezed out by two others and virtually brought down was a big mistake

any chance he though horse was injured and tried to pull up

Elliott ending up with the first 3 home makes it the best own goal ever

If the horse was injured the jockey wouldn't have been banned for dangerous riding.

He looked back as if he'd been given a shout...I  know who my money would be on who gave that shout.

jmdc    24 Apr 18 20:09

Would anybody put their life on it being 100% straight?
Oh ok saxon didn't know that. That theory is out of the window, then!

irishone    24 Apr 18 20:10 

Didnt have a bet but sure this has been done before

Dodgy betting patterns to follow .....1.01 nap
------------

NONSENSE - and utter NONSENSE.

It was a Grade 1 race - with 100,000 euros added Prize-Money

Jockeys gets a percentage of THAT.

If Townsend has any credibility he needs to make a statement as to what exactly happened.

i backed 3 invitation only - al boum photo - finians Oscar I just laughed never seen anything like it any one would have done lol

I thought he was avoiding the fence injury but its bazaar

If that had happened at Cheltenham what would have been the result?


Wouldn't happen at Cheltenham Liberator OTO  as when they go out for the final circuit there the ground staff join the two rails with white tape so the jockeys & horses do't see a huge gap to attempt to run into so they know the only way is forward...Unlike Punchestown where it looked like most of the ground staff stood around watching the racing rather than doing a sensible job between the last 2 fences.

That's eggzactly what o was going to post gutty word 4 wurd

The ground staff are not required to prevent horses from crashing through the wings of a fence imo.

Wacky races

if you watch the replay , just as paul townend looks around , robbie power on finians oscar is moving towards his right , which PT could quite easily have mistaken for robbie power avoiding the fence and going around it into the gap in the rails if he heard a shout from somewhere , also  and davy russel is bang on the rail which PT might well have thought they are both going around the fence .

1.01 he heard a shout or something else, as when a jockey takes up the running like he did , very rarely do they take such a pronounced look around , they just keep riding out as they know what is around them .

Townsend left course no comment he needs to explain himself and quick or will become hate figure some people done there money everyone deserves a explanation

imho another jock shouted to avoid fence. They know who it is imho and cant come out with accusations. There can't be any other reason for such silence.

If he made an error of judgement on his own it would be forgotten quick.

Apr 24, 2018 -- 8:38PM, know all wrote:

i backed 3 invitation only - al boum photo - finians Oscar I just laughed never seen anything like it any one would have done lol

yeah you've got to laugh at that - mad sport anyway really

Is it possible that Townend had mud on his goggles and thought he was heading for some sort of barrier rather than the final fence? Caught a glimpse of the the rails ending on his right, followed by a gap, with the inside wing of the fence looking like the outside rail of a right-hand bend, and thought that that was the layout of the course to follow.

Or maybe he's just really shortsighted and has never admitted it, being a professional jockey.

I know it sounds unlikely, but so is any other explanation.

Punchestown
By Graeme Rodway - 3 hours agoGraeme RodwayLATEST
Punchestown (IRE) latest: The Live Tipster
What a mad race!

So Monalee takes a heavy fall when looking likely to win and trading at 2.1 in running on Betfair. He brings down the strong-travelling Invitation Only, who had touched 3.1.

Al Boum Photo looks set to take advantage when clear at the last, but Paul Townend must have thought he needed to steer past the last and, in running out, he has also taken out Finian's Oscar. Al Boum Photo had been matched at 1.25, while Finian's Oscar traded at 1.53.

After all the carnarge, 16-1 outsider The Storyteller is the most fortunate of winners after trading at a high of 75.

Completely bonkers.

press reporting townend told the stewards he heard a shout telling him to miss the final fence ....

lol so who was it

I have only just watched it but the only reason can be is that PT heard a shout, shame about the outcome as i was on FO.

and then there was the day that annie power fell at the last that would have given Willie Mullins a four timer,but that day the four were tiny prices compared to the four prices that were super massive today.it seems to be forgotten that willie had three winners in the bag before PT made his mistake and the four together would have scud missisled a bookie or two,but then again that is just coincidental thinking on my behalf.

yes it seems strange, the silence says something, time to make sure the story fits all together didn't think that at first but I can remember jockeys jumping off so we cant say it never happens and instead of coming out straight away makes you think why the silence

Return of the ray Gun? alternatively aka Bellshill in Irish National are mullins horses haunted by a last fence fairy

Brassneck, I seriously doubt any of the Mullins fans were having Draconien in their 4 folds over Getabird.

One thing that interested me was that that that Finians Oscar was very much heading east when Townend looked over his shoulder and carrying the Storyteller that way. They could have easily looked like they were going round the last.

However, there's a tried and tested system in place for avoiding fences which resolves around flags. You've got to trust that system whatever the circumstance.

My guess was that something made Townend doubt the course, and the look over his shoulder only served to confirm his suspicion. The perfect storm.

Did not want to get beaten by the English trained horse at any cost?

yea, that's probably it, mate