Horse racing chaos as hot favourite crashes through rails with winning line at his mercy

Horse racing fans were left stunned as a heavy favourite crashed through the rail just yards from victory at Killarney. Green Triangle, trained by Joseph O'Brien, was leading the 5:20 race on Wednesday when disaster struck approaching the finish.

The two-year-old colt, with odds of 11/10, had a clear lead and looked set to win over the 1m distance. However, just metres from the finish line, jockey Wayne Hassett was left all at sea as Green Triangle veered left and crashed through the rail.

This unexpected twist allowed Lambourn, trained by Joseph's father Aiden O'Brien, to claim victory at 6/1. J'Adore Chris came in second, followed closely by Cap Saint Martin.

Legendary race commentator Jerry Hannon described the rarely-seen event as "an astonishing finish" on Racing TV, reports the Daily Star. Thankfully, both Green Triangle and Hassett emerged unscathed from the incident.

Simon Munir, a key player in National Hunt racing and co-owner of Green Triangle, expressed relief after the race at Killarney, stating: "Thankfully Green Triangle appears to be fine, after calamity struck whilst looking like a comfortable winner."

The bizarre incident sparked a flurry of reactions from racing enthusiasts on social media. One fan exclaimed: "Never seen anything like that."

Another was left astounded, remarking: "Seen some strange things in my many decades of following horse racing but this, well this is probably right up there."

A third supporter, who had placed bets on the race, commented: "Backed them and was counting my winnings, not bothered though as long as horse and jockey are okay. Live to fight another day."

Meanwhile, a fourth wrote in disbelief: "It is hard to imagine a worse beat than this. Wow." And a fifth added: "Lucky he wasn't going full gallop."