Should Derby favourite Benvenuto Cellini have been deemed a non-runner at Epsom and what are the implications?

A rum lad was this BENVENUTO CELLINI.

Brawling, dabbling in the occult and multiple slayings all featured in the legendary 16th century sculptor’s autobiography and his notoriety extends beyond the grave after his equine namesake wrote a bizarre chapter in Epsom history on Saturday.

The facts that led to the BHA stewarding panel declaring the 2026 Derby favourite a non-runner for betting purposes are simple.

Opinions on whether the decision was justified are varied and complex.

And the ramifications for what will happen when horses experience problems at the start in future are significant.

But let’s start with those facts.

A camera perched above Ryan Moore’s head in stall 12 captures Benvenuto Cellini’s chestnut rump swaying gently as the final Derby colts are loaded.

Close inspection reveals a white sock where it shouldn’t be as his near hind leg is bent and pinned hard against the inside running board.

A white gloved stalls handler, seeming to sense a problem, moves forward and Ryan looks down to his left as the gates crash open.

And the 3/1 jolly trails home a weary tenth behind stablemate CHRISTMAS DAY after missing the break and getting well behind from an early stage.

The divisive Dash for justice

Next to those opinions which, as ever in life, tend to be coloured by individual interests.

Some would say mine might be swayed by the fact that I was working on a broadcast for World Pool, an increasingly influential partner to British racing and one that favours global rules which protect backers of horses who don’t get a fair start.

Others with a foot in the traditional bookmaking camp, like Simon Clare of Entain, will react to what they consider “an extraordinary example of self-sabotage and a bad precedent to set."

Benvenuto backers will smile quietly at how they dodged a Derby bullet.

And the BHA’s Head of Stewarding Shaun Parker will reflect on his challenging day and lean hard on Rule H6, which states that “stewards may declare a horse a non-runner where, in a race started from stalls, a horse is denied a fair start, and its chances are materially affected."

There is wisdom in a justice system that gives seasoned officials an element of discretion, and the list of well backed horses whose backers were shafted before the current H6 rule came into force is worth reflecting on.

Harry Angel lashing out in the gate and blowing the start when favourite for the Diamond Jubilee.

Market leader Speculative Bid being initially declared a runner in a big Ascot handicap even though he left the stalls without Jamie Spencer on his back.

Well fancied Godolphin filly Stunning Beauty standing motionless for over seven seconds in the Kensington Palace because Silvestre De Sousa was unable to remove her blindfold.

And then those chaotic moments after the 2023 Dash, when Parker’s panel ruled that Live In The Moment – sent off favourite after returning to form under a front-running ride on his previous start – hadn’t been materially disadvantaged by the fact that his stall (and several others) opened late in the fastest sprint in the calendar.

There isn’t a sensible observer around who would deny that the current version of H6 isn’t a positive addition in certain circumstances.

And so why do so many people feel uneasy – or downright angry – about the decision to declare the horse Aidan calls ‘Benny’ a non-runner?

Lifeline leaves the door open to confusion

ITV’s voice of reason Richard Hoiles spent a fair chunk of his Saturday evening on social media explaining that H6 has been invoked on several occasions recently when horses who have got a leg trapped on the side of the stalls.

HKJC and World Pool supremo Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges was all in favour of Saturday’s call in conversation with RTV’s Nick Luck, even going as far as to suggest that Benny’s position as market leader ought to have been a strong determining factor.

That man Parker referred to a recent case at Windsor when officials ruled a horse was a non-runner purely on evidence given by those at the start.

But as the image of various blokes in top hats and tails performing wrestling manoeuvres with the rule book begins to fade, two key questions hang in the air.

First, did the Epsom panel stretch the elastic band of Rule H6 to breaking point in the heated moments following the 2026 Derby?

And second, and even more importantly, would the expulsion tool have been brandished had ITV not placed an overhead camera in Benvenuto Cellini’s stall on Saturday?

Maybe verbal evidence from the white gloved stalls attendant and Ryan’s view that he was denied a chance to secure a handy position would have won the day.

Call me a cynic, but I think the answers to those two questions are ‘yes’ and ‘unlikely.’

The original Cellini took time out from his slayings and sexual conquests to state that "one can pass on responsibility, but not the discretion that goes with it."

Parker’s panel used maximum discretion in favour of a horse who caused all his own problems on Saturday.

The presence of that ITV camera threw Benny’s backers a precious lifeline. But phoning a friend won’t do anything to help those who copped a 25 per cent deduction on their Christmas Day winnings – and the world will be watching all summer long now to see what happens when a big race favourite gets a dodgy break.

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