After the field had travelled six furlongs, the champion jockey sent Jasmick into the lead and then allowed team-mate Pat Eddery up his inner, coming off the final bend before fading into fifth place.

These tactics angered Morrison, who said: ‘‘If you have a team game then team tactics come into play. I can’t blame Kieren Fallon.

‘‘I blame Ascot. They were building up the team beating the other team (Rest of the World) so what do you expect the jockeys to do? They are told to win and they created a scenario in which my horse got abused basically.’’

At the subsequent stewards inquiry Fallon blamed the lack of pace as the reason behind his early move on Jasmick and his explanation was accepted.

‘‘The jockey is a senior jockey. He’s never ridden the horse before so he has every reason to do what he feels but it was blatant,’’ Morrison continued.

‘‘I felt sorry for the stewards. They were put in an impossible position.

‘‘The owners and everyone are very upset.’’

Ascot’s head of public relations Nick Smith stressed that the competition is run strictly under the Rules of Racing.

He said: ‘‘The Blue Square Shergar Cup is run under the Rules of Racing. The races themselves are no different to any other races in the calendar in that respect.

‘‘If it is considered by somebody - owners, trainers, jockeys - that the Rules of Racing have been impaired in any way then that’s really an issue between them and the Jockey Club.

‘‘From our point of view the Shergar Cup is different. Yes it is a team competition but we make it pretty clear and the conditions of the races are pretty clear that they have to be run under the Rules of Racing.’’