RACING: Words like "disgraceful" and "laughing stock" were being bandied about following yesterday's dramatic abandonment of racing at Gowran Park after just two races. Brian O'Connor, Racing Correspondent, reports

In that second race, two horses slipped up and two more were badly hampered at the bend out of the back straight.

That in turn provoked an angry reaction from the jockeys who declared the track was unsafe and refused to ride, citing the state of the bends and the impact of watering on the ground.

"The bends are very bad. We complained before the first and nothing was done," said Seamus Heffernan, who had won that first contest on Go For Gold.

"It's a combination of the alignment of the track and the watering that was done," said Pat Shanahan.

"Horses don't fall on fast ground. They fall on wet ground," he added.

"It's like glass out there, and the bend at the top is like a right angle," declared Declan McDonogh, while Fran Berry added: "It's the configuration of the track that is wrong."

A large deputation of riders piled into the stewards' room and half an hour later, after confusion had reigned, with the horses for the next race walking around the parade ring, the stewards announced the meeting was abandoned.

In that time, while the stewards inquiry progressed, amendments to the controversial bend were made but it wasn't enough to save the meeting.

That provoked an angry response from many trainers and owners, as well as disgruntled punters who received free passes for the next Gowran fixture in August on presentation of a race card.

It was enough for one punter to joke: "Kildare must be playing a football match today!"

But there was a much more serious response from the top trainer, Willie Mullins, who said: "It's disgraceful: another meeting gone on what looks like perfect ground. Someone has to be found responsible."

His colleague, Tom Taaffe, declared: "In my opinion a representative of the jockeys' association, and the trainers' association, should walk every track a week beforehand. We are the laughing stock of the world again."

Jim Kavanagh, chief executive of the trainers' association, added: "We seem to be stumbling from one incident to another. We had problems with Listowel earlier in the year and now this.

"Questions will have to asked of the Turf Club officials involved and the personnel at the track."

The Gowran manager, Ger O'Callaghan, denied any suggestion that watering had taken place yesterday morning,

"We watered lightly on Friday and Saturday to try and take the jar out of the ground and that didn't change things dramatically," he said.

Officially the going was described as "good" and "good to firm" for the final three furlongs.

The incident that brought matters to a head occurred after two furlongs of the mile handicap when Libras Child and Home Force slipped and fell.

Both the Fran Berry-ridden Silverware and Pat Shanahan's mount Like A Dream were badly hampered in the melee and were virtually pulled up.

The jockeys who fell, Tadhg O'Shea and Helen Keohane, emerged unscathed.

Ultimately the controversial race was won by the Davy Condon-ridden Definite Best, who held off the McDonogh-ridden Hiawatha by a length.

Seamus Heffernan was third on Nutwood, but he had earlier pulled out an unlikely victory for the odds-on Go For Gold who made a winning debut for Aidan O'Brien.

"He's a nice horse and we won't be in any hurry with him," said O'Brien.