‘Missing horse’ wins race after being backed off the boards despite atrocious form

A ‘MISSING HORSE’ with absolutely no form was a shock winner after being backed off the boards by in-the-know punters.

Six-year-old Karloss was at the centre of a controversial withdrawal in August when trained by Irish handler Charles Byrnes.

Notorious Irish trainer Byrnes used to train Karloss – who won at Sedgefield despite having absolutely no previous formSportsfile – Subscription

The horse was due to make his debut for Byrnes but got ‘injured in transit’ on his way to Downpatrick racecourse.

That race was won by Anyway, who was backed from 20s to evens money – and who Byrnes used to train.

The circumstances surrounding Karloss’ disappearance were forwarded for further investigation.

A furious Byrnes demanded CCTV from the track be released to prove the horse made it to the track, after stewards said the horse ‘did not arrive at the races’.

The whole debacle led to Karloss being dubbed the ‘missing horse’.

Whatever happened, Karloss was unstoppable on debut for Samuel Drinkwater at Sedgefield on Wednesday.

Racing experts Timeform thought the horse, beaten a cumulative 491 lengths in six starts, would go off 300-1.

But he was smashed into 4-1 from around 25s and ran out a comfortable winner of the 2m1f handicap hurdle under Robbie Dunne – the jockey banned for bullying Bryony Frost.

Irish Racing reported that Byrnes, a trainer famed for his gambles, did not wish to comment on the race.

Karloss, owned by Barry Healy, had never run at odds shorter than 100-1 before.

But he took the lead with 100 yards of the race to go and saw off the well-backed fav Leopolds Rock.

A post from Byrnes’ Twitter account previously hit out at those accusing him of any wrongdoing over the Downpatrick affair.

The message claimed people had ‘let their imaginations run wild’ over the conflicting series of events.

The post concluded with the hashtag: “#youcantteachstupid.”

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