On Tuesday, a late entry joined a Thoroughbred race at Cessnock Race Track in a rural section of New South Wales, Australia. A kangaroo appeared along the inside rail and stuck with the pack for a while before bolting out of there.
Close call for Skippy in the last at Cessnock. ??#Straya pic.twitter.com/3L8NGhWGGP
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 2, 2017
Did the ‘roo have a chance at winning? According to speedofanimals.com (yep), a red kangaroo can reach speeds of 44mph for short distances, which would certainly allow one to stick with the horses for a while. Typically they hop along at a more leisurely 13-16mph. The website states that they can maintain a speed of 25 mph for around 2 kilometers, which is close to the distance of Tuesday’s kangaroo-crashed race. Not a bad hopping speed, but not good enough to keep up with fit Thoroughbreds who can race at speeds above 40 mph.
The kangaroo’s dart through the pack was a risky move, but no horses, riders, or marsupials were injured in the incident.
The winning jockey, Robert Thompson, later said that the kangaroo’s appearance was part of his game plan to distract his competitors, according to stuff.co.nz.
The kangaroo was not available for comment.
Now that was different for sure! Glad the little guy was able to avoid being trampled getting out of there!
Oh My! He is fast and lucky to cut across and not become squashed!
Very happy to see that no horses spooked or the little guy got run over! Silly Kangaroo!
I was routin for the underdog, go Kangaroo to!
Hey Mate, Passing on the left! LOL!
WHOA, wonder how he got there and what was going through his mind! How did I do this, exit stage left!
WOW that was a risky move darting between those running race horses! Lucky Roo for sure!
Well isn’t this interesting! A Kangaroo in the race! Just really glad he didn’t spook the horses or get trampled!
Oh MY, sure glad he could scoot along like that and then right between them all without being runned down! Glad that the horses didn’t spook either!