The Papyrus
09/07/2026Front page
Giza: the gate opened one second too early
By Chamophélie, special correspondent · 1 min read
The steward swears he saw nothing. Three hundred punters saw it very clearly. The story of an evening that should not have ended this way.
It was just past eight when the gate on lane 4 lifted. Not on the gong: one second before it. In a ten-second race, one second is an eternity.
The chamo who took advantage happened to belong to a stable friendly with the house. The steward, meanwhile, was looking elsewhere — at his shoes, to be precise, with an intensity I had never seen in him before.
"A technical anomaly"
Asked about it on his way out, he blamed "a technical anomaly in the mechanism". I asked whether the anomaly had been paid in cash. He did not wish to continue the interview.
"The gates are old. So are the punters. Everything creaks."
— Al Paicciamo, asked for comment
No complaint was filed. There never is.