Not even the Forbury Park trots on Thursday could escape the effects of pop star Ed Sheeran’s presence in Dunedin.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic north and south of Dunedin played havoc with the transportation of horses to the meeting.
With only three of the five horses on track to compete in race 2, a decision was made by stewards, the Forbury Park Trotting Club and the TAB to delay the meeting.
That decision enabled Rangiora trainer Mitchell Kerr’s pacer Run Boy Run to arrive in time for the rescheduled race and he duly prevailed.
There were no traffic problems for the 4yr-old in the feature pace, though, like his trip to the races, the 2700m feature pace was a pedestrian affair.
Despite that and settling at the rear of the field, Run Boy Run sprinted best in a dash home for Dexter Dunn.
The trip from his Rangiora stable to Forbury Park usually takes Kerr five hours, but it took seven hours on Thursday. He was grateful to the Forbury Park Club and officials for the decision to delay the meeting, he said.
Ed Sheeran fever caused trainer Cran Dalgety to miss his filly’s Sires Stakes
heat.The trainer’s star 3yr-old showed she had made a perfect recovery from a virus. Bettor Joy sat outside the leader, Delight In Me, for much of the 1700m feature.
Dalgety missed the race because he attended Thursday night’s concert — not that he was there to sing along to Sheeran.
Instead he was accompanying his wife, Chrissie, a part-owner of Bettor Joy.
The trainer had to listen to the singer’s songs on the way to the concert to get up to speed on Sheeran’s hits, stable representative Amanda Grieve said. Bettor Joy almost cost herself a winning chance when gawking around in the home straight and got her nose in front right on the line.
"She is usually a bit lazy in the run but tonight she was right up on the job and felt great,’’ Dexter Dunn said on Thursday night.
"She mucks around a bit when she gets to the front. She got to the other horse pretty easy and then she started knocking off.
"I wasn’t sure if I had won it or not."
Dunn delivered a much more decisive victory for Chrissie Dalgety earlier in the night.
Linton Shard put more than three lengths on his rivals in race 6, winning in a smart 2-42.6 for 2200m.
The horse is now unbeaten in two starts for Westwood Beach trainer Graeme Anderson.
Dunn made it four wins on Thursday night when winning race 9 with the Brian Norman trained Honour Scroll. Elation turned to tragedy earlier in the evening at Forbury Park.
The second placegetter in the opening race, Pat The Monarch, dropped dead just seconds after the race.
The 2700m non-winners trot was won by Zoned Scarlett, trained by Mosgiel trainer Darryn Simpson.
The jubilant scene of Simpson and his supporters greeting their horse in the Forbury Park winners’ circle quickly turned to one of heartbreak.
When Pat The Monarch collapsed on the track Simpson was among those who quickly rushed to the horse’s side.
The Steve Lock-trained trotter was suspected to have suffered a fatal cardiac arrhythmia.
