OUTRAGEOUS – that's the general feeling at Oxford Stadium over the original omission of the Pattinson Construction Trafalgar Cup winner Freedom Emma from the Ladbroke Puppy Derby at Monmore.

Emma, owned by Stuart Locke-Harte and trained by Richard Yeates, stormed home a worthy winner of the early-season open, yet was only named as second reserve for the prestigious event.

With two other runners withdrawing, the bitch took her chance and qualified in third place on Thursday, but connections are angry that she could have missed out.

When Yeates contacted Monmore to ask why Emma did not warrant an entry, the reply was they didn't have the form.

Yet when the bitch ran at Monmore on Saturday, its full form was on the racecard – and what’s more, why would Emma be made a reserve if they didn't have the form?

An angry Yeates said: “It really is unbelievable. Saying they didn't have the form was no excuse. The bitch ran there on Saturday.

"Stuart, the owner, is gutted over the decision. He is going through a rough time at the moment and the latest success is giving him some light relief.

“However, it's no good me shouting about it. What makes it worse is that there are three dogs in the line-up who have yet to race.

“If this had happened to a trainer like Charlie Lister there would be hell to play.

“I rang the Racing Post to see why Freedom Emma didn't get a mention because of the omission during the televised meeting on Tuesday and was told that they had been asked not to report it."

Interestingly, the four dogs who finished behind Emma in the Trafalgar Cup were accep-ted, as were a couple of others who can't win an A4 race!

l THE stewards were busy at Sunday's BAGS meeting, needing ten photo-finishes on the 14-race card.

One that didn't need a photo-finish was the Terry Atkins- trained Roadstown Nasher who won an A3 grade by seven lengths, posting 26.76, an improvement of 46 spots.

A routine urine sample was taken and now the stewards await the test results.

Some owners are expressing concerns over the lack of lower graded races with the advent of former trainer Nick Colton returning to the track.

Colton was taken on to bring more top graders to Cowley, but racing manager Gary Baiden said having him back should have no effect on the balance of the card.

“I am looking to bring a better balance to the top grade over 450m where each trainer possibly has only one runner instead of the two or three we are getting at the moment,” he said.

l THE jackpot, worth £10,000, was won on Thursday night, but the winner wished to remain anonymous.