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WA ring-in: How the infamous horse replacement happened
Connor Scanlon • August 31st, 2025 8:19 pm
A comedy of errors took place in Western Australia last week, marking one of the most infamous race days in WA history.
In Race 2 at Northam, Urquharts Bluff accidentally completed a ring-in, replacing stablemate El Alamein.
Urquharts Bluff went on to win the maiden race, leaving punters to believe that El Alamein had just won her first ever race. However, it was later discovered that a ring-in had occurred.
SENTrack’s Gareth Hall has broken down exactly how the ring-in happened.
“My phone started to go off about 10 minutes after that race, and then I heard Darren McAullay before the next race saying that there’s a big story that might be unfolding here at Northam,” Hall told SENTrack's Giddy Up.
“So, I rang a few people back that called me, and I couldn’t believe what they were telling me.
“So, Paul Jordan brought two horses to the races, El Alamein and Urquharts Bluff.
“El Alamein bolted home, but the problem was that El Alamein was standing in his stalls there at Northam.
“Urquharts Bluff was meant to be going in a Class 1 later on, but he was actually competing in that race and he bolted home.
“They conduct the after-race interview, Paul Jordan’s over the moon. They declare ‘all clear’ the stewards, and then my understanding is it was picked up by a leading trainer in WA who said, 'That’s the wrong horse'.
“Then the investigation unfolded after that.”
Despite the suspicions around the ring-in, Gareth Hall announced that the incident was purely accidental and urged everyone not to attack Paul Jordan.
“El Alamein was $4.50 (on Sportsbet) out to $8, so it was out the gate,” Hall revealed.
“No one knew this was happening, it was just an honest mistake.
“I’ve known Paul Jordan for a long time, he’s a great man, so is Craig Staples who rode that horse, so they’ve just made an honest mistake.
“It was a mistake, so you do feel for the people involved – things happen in life and it’s unfortunate.
“I want to make that clear, we don’t want to be hammering the people who made that mistake.”
A full investigation into the accidental ring-in is now taking place.
