Horse escapes Newcastle Racecourse and bolts towards A1

A runaway racehorse who escaped Newcastle Racecourse after unseating his jockey mid-race was eventually found running loose near the A1.

Savannah Moon left the confines of the racecourse and was eventually calmed down at the roadside by a taxi driver on the Great North Road on Monday 26th September.

Jockey Tom Eaves has been ruled out for the season after breaking his leg in three places in the fall.

Remarkable footage of Savannah Moon being walked back to the racecourse has emerged and was captured by Newmarket Racing Transport employee Patsy Roche.

The 55-year-old was enjoying a meal with a colleague on her break in Gosforth Park when she spotted the horse.

Patsy said:

“I was watching the tops of cars going by and I just saw this racehorse gallop by - it was really surreal.

“We both went into job mode to catch the horse. We were passing kids and they were saying ‘did you see the horse?’

“We got around the corner and there was a taxi driver with the horse. I’m not sure if the horse had stopped running or if the driver had managed to stop him.

“It was all over in a couple of minutes. It was only afterwards you start to think about what could have happened.”

Savannah Moon, a four-year-old filly trained by Kevin Ryan, was unhurt.

She carried on after unseating her jockey, swerving stall holders and breaking through racecourse railings into Northumberland Golf Club.

Sprinting down the 2nd and 18th holes, Savannah Moon managed to then escape the Gosforth Park grounds and was on the Great North Road when she was finally calmed down.

A spokesperson for Newcastle Racecourse said: “Following the unfortunate incident on Monday, we would like to thank the team of racecourse vets and groundstaff who were able to quickly attend to the loose horse, bring her back to the racecourse and confirm that she was fit and well.

“We would also like to wish jockey Tom Eaves a speedy recovery from his injury.”