The Betfred 2000 Guineas antepost market was plunged into chaos on Tuesday when Aidan O'Brien scratched two high-profile horses from the race in error.
After Gstaad, a 7/1 chance in the antepost betting, and Albert Einstein, out to 16/1 from 7/2 after his Gladness Stakes defeat on Saturday, were scratched from the race, Bow Echo and Publish were quickly trimmed into 4/1 joint-favourites, with plenty of other fancied contenders shortened, as well.
However, while it wouldn't be a surprise for Albert Einstein to miss the first Classic of the season, with the sprinting route now likely to be explored, Gstaad missing out is another thing entirely and it transpired both horses were taken out of the Newmarket race due to human error.
O'Brien told the Racing Post: "There was a blip on the computer. Something happened, the computer went bananas and took out a couple of horses that weren't meant to be taken out. We are hoping to get them back in and could do with a bit of common sense being applied.
"The people here in the office were trying to take the horses out of the Dante, but the Guineas flashed up instead and that button was pressed. They were pressing for the Dante, but as they were pressing the Guineas flashed up. They weren't meant to be taken out of the Guineas and we are working on getting them back in."
Gstaad was second to Gewan in the Darley Dewhurst Stakes before he got his top-level win at two in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf over a mile on his final start.
He was put through his paces in a public workout at the Curragh on Sunday under Ryan Moore, with things going well as he found himself the new Ballydoyle number one for the Guineas after Albert Einstein's defeat on seasonal return the day before.
O'Brien is trying to get the error rectified, but that may not be possible due to procedure.
However, either horse could be supplemented back in the race at a cost of £30,000 at the six-day stage if connections so desire.
More from Sporting Life
- Free bets
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
