North Herefordshire trainer Richard Lee admits he was surprised the stewards had not demanded an explanation after Jolejoker's poor showing at Hereford.

Lee told BBC Hereford and Worcester he was at a loss to explain his horse's poor showing in the handicap chase.

"I can't believe the stewards haven't had me in for an explanation, but I haven't got one," he said.

"It's the first bad race he has ever run, but he has run here before so I am mystified," he admitted.

Jolejoker was sent off as the 3-1 joint-favourite for the race, but from the outset it was clear jockey Robert Thornton was having to work hard to keep the horse in touch.

The horse was never travelling, which is unlike Jolejoker because he is such a genuine horse Richard Lee

With the horse some distance off the pace on the second circuit, Thornton opted to pull him up.

Lee said it would be a case of 'back to the drawing board' when planning Jolejoker's next outing.

"The horse was never travelling, which is unlike Jolejoker because he is such a genuine horse," he said.

"He got jumped into a bit at the third fence, but to my way of thinking he wasn't even travelling at that stage.

"We'll have to go home and scratch our heads a bit," he added.

The horse has generally been a model of consistency, with 12 first-four placings in 16 outings stretching back to May 2005.

There was a much more encouraging showing from one of the stable's rising stars Istron Bay who narrowly missed out on a third-place finish in a 15-strong field in the novices hurdle.

Lee is upbeat as to Istron Bay's future prospects.

"We ran him in a chase at Exeter which he wasn't ready for," he said. "He and the jockey ended up in different parts of the track.

"But this year we put him back over hurdles and he ran an absolutely super race at Haydock to be third and he was just touched off today for fourth.

"He's a young horse with a big future."

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