Hong Kong Jockey Club stewards found no rider was to blame for the incident that put jockey Steve Drowne in hospital and resulted in the death of English filly Jwala after an inquiry into the "catastrophic" fall in the frantic final stages of Sunday's Longines Group One Hong Kong Sprint, reports the HK Racing Post.
Drowne was to undergo surgery on his broken left collarbone last night, but earlier in the day he left his hospital bed, and with his arm in a sling, gave evidence into the dramatic incident that brought Jwala down with 50 metres to go in the race and ultimately saw her die on the track.
Six other riders had already given evidence after the HK$15 million race at Sha Tin, and after Drowne fronted the inquiry at Happy Valley, stewards found that blame could not be attributed to a single rider.
"The stewards determined that this incident, while severe and with catastrophic consequences, did not eventuate as a result of careless, reckless or dangerous riding exhibited by an individual rider, rather the incident was caused by a considerable number of circumstances occurring in close proximity which ultimately resulted in Jwala falling. Accordingly no further action was taken," the stewards said.
Jwala fell after clipping heels when crowded for room between Charles The Great, ridden by Douglas Whyte, on her inside and from the outside by Lucky Nine (Brett Prebble), but stipes concluded the incident was caused by a chain reaction that began at least 100 metres earlier.
Even though many felt it was Whyte's riding that would come under most scrutiny in the inquiry, stewards deemed he had taken a run that he was entitled to, after which he was taken onto the running of Jwala.