A stewards' inquiry was called in the opener at Sandown on Saturday with the judge's initial verdict changed after inspection of the photo finish.
Phoenix Star was called the winner of the Coral 'Beaten-By-A-Length' Free Bet Handicap after a tight finish with Hurricane Ivor, but the official photo appeared to show that William Haggas' horse had won by the finest of margins.
The mistake was spotted immediately by the stewards but, although an inquiry was called before they weighed in, the result was surprisingly rectified to a dead-heat after some deliberation.
Nick Luck reported on Racing TV that the reason for the dead-heat being called was because the mirror image evidence couldn't be used as it was shown to be faulty judging by the disparity between the third and the fourth.
That meant the stewards could only go on the main photo, in which it was impossible to decipher whose nostril was in front on the line.
Sky Bet, Betfair Sportsbook, Paddy Power, bet365, Ladbrokes and Coral were amongst the bookmakers that announced they were paying out in full on both horses.
Jessica Macey, trainer of Phoenix Star, said: “It’s fair to say that was a rollercoaster of emotions, but I’ll take a dead-heat!
“This is by far my biggest winner, I never even thought I’d have a runner on Eclipse day never mind a winner.
“Chris Dwyer is my uncle, I’ve also worked for Charlie Appleby. I’m training out of John Balding’s old yard near Doncaster.
“I’ve about 15 horses, but only six running at the moment with the others youngsters.”
Hurricane Ivor was having his second start for Haggas following a move from France, where he had some smart form.
The Newmarket handler said: “In the top picture it looks like we’ve won, but in the bottom picture it looks like a dead-heat.
“The amazing thing is how the judge called the other one the winner. That’s one thing that didn’t happen!
“Hopefully they show everyone what I’ve seen. The third and fourth were the other way round, too.
“It’s pretty difficult, but I won’t be appealing. It’s the original result I’ve a problem with.”
Official BHA Stewards Report:
An enquiry was held into the circumstances surrounding the correction of the placings of HURRICANE IVOR (IRE) and PHOENIX STAR (IRE) in Race 1. The Judge, the Photo Finish Operator and a Steward were interviewed. Having heard their evidence, it was established that a distortion of the mirror, that was not identified until after the Provisional Result had been called, led to an inaccurate mirror image on the Photo Finish. As a result, the Judge could not use the mirror image when reviewing the Photo Finish, so with insufficient evidence from the Field Image to accurately split HURRICANE IVOR (IRE) and PHOENIX STAR (IRE), a dead-heat for first was called. The Stewards further enquired in order to ascertain the possible reasons for the Photo Finish mirror being distorted. A report was forwarded to the Head Office of the British Horseracing Authority for further consideration.
