Horse, Who Lost His Rider Once, Went On to Create One of the Most Bizarre Incidents in Racing History

Equestrian sports are the best example of symbiotic relationships. The camaraderie that a rider and their horse share are off the charts. How to explain this better than by taking the name of Isabell Werth, the ‘Queen of Dressage’, who is so in sync with her horses, it’s immaculate and wonderous to watch. The general idea is that a rider would be incomplete without their horse, and vice versa. But apparently, one particular horse did not need a rider at all.

The year 2013 saw the debut of the thoroughbred Fort Larned at Gulfstream Park. The audience had high hopes for the debutant, but those hopes were soon dashed. The most shocking thing happened, and while Fort Larned crossed the finish line before any other horse, winning was out of the question.

The most bizarre win-loss at an equestrian event

When Fort Larned jumped out of the starting gate at Gulfstream Park, his instincts were to get to the glory as fast as possible. However, in his attempt to be the first, Fort Larned stumbled, and as a result, his jockey, Brian Hernandez Jr. was thrown off.

Horses are intelligent creatures for sure, but they are instinctive as well. A thoroughbred is a horse species crafted specifically for racing. One could say racing is in their blood. As a racehorse, Fort Larned performed his duties to the utmost of his capabilities and crossed the wire 15 lengths ahead of any other horse. He might have “won” the Gulfstream Park Handicap, but unfortunately, his win wasn’t counted.

However, his win can definitely be counted as one of the weirdest race wins in the history of equestrian sports. In a post about this incident that was shared in 2016, by a page called Retired Racehorse Project, Fort Larned’s disposition during the race was described in a manner that captured his essence as a racehorse perfectly.

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According to the post by Champions of the Track, “Fort Larned ran because he wanted to. He ran because it was his desire to stay in front of all the other horses. He ran because it was in his blood and heart, not because someone was asking him to.” Even as the horse stumbled over the starting gates and landed on his head, he got up without missing a beat and rushed to the wire like a bullet shot out of a gun. But what exactly went wrong?

Deciphering the mystery of Fort Larned

The Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Fort Larned was declared a non-finisher at the event after the then-5-year-old threw off his jockey over his right shoulder in a bid to rush out of the starting gates. According to Palick Report, his jockey, Hernandez, who was luckily not harmed in the peculiar incident, said, “It’s really weird because he warmed up better today than he did before the Classic. He was really on his toes. He did everything right until that moment.” The horse’s trainer, Ian Wilkes, decoded exactly what went wrong.

Wilkes explained that Fort Larned grabbed his left front in the middle of the heel while “overreaching” in his second jump. However, even though he was surprised at the performance Wilkes further said, “He’s a very intelligent horse and I’m glad he didn’t run off the track. We just want to make sure he’s OK, most importantly.” As Fort Larned was disqualified, Discreet Dancer picked up the slack, and the 9-5 took the lead at the turn and galloped to a smooth victory.

While the win might have gone to Discreet Dancer, the performance shown by Fort Larned is the perfect depiction of how the mind and the body of a racehorse work to perfectly achieve the exact purpose they were made for, and some might even do it without the guiding hand of an experienced jockey.

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