Three horses have died in 45 minutes of carnage as tragedy struck on the final day of Cheltenham Racecourse’s November Meeting on Monday (AEDT).
In horrific scenes that have rocked racing, the death of race winner Abuffalosoldier was broadcast on live TV as jockey Sean Bowen was thrown off the seven-year-old Irish horse when it suddenly collapsed.
Bowen had just piloted Abuffalosoldier to victory in the Holland Cooper Handicap Chase at the track in Gloucestershire, UK, and had been interviewed past the post when the brown horse veered away from the interviewer and then fell forward.
Ben Pauling’s Bangers And Cash also collapsed during the same race and was later confirmed to have died from a “cardiovascular collapse”, The Sun reports.
And in the Greatwood Hurdle barely 45 minutes later, Napper Tandy suffered a fatal injury when falling at the second last hurdle.
Bowen was still on Abuffalosoldier’s back when the Warren Greatrex-trained runner went down before the cameras could cut away.
An ITV host later told the TV audience those that watched the scene unfold were “visibly shaking”.
The news of the two deaths were relayed to the big crowd at Cheltenham, who would have been aware something was wrong when the seven-year-old did not return to the winner’s enclosure.
The atmosphere on-course quickly turned quiet and sombre, and it only worsened when news of Napper Tandy’s fatal injury filtered through.
All three horses were attended to immediately by the team of on-course vets, but they were unable to be saved.
Popular trainer Greatrex was left distraught and said on social media: “A very sad day for the team. Thoughts are with Esme who looked after and adored Abuffalosoldier, and to his owners Mahler & The Wailers.”
He went on to say: “It’s heartbreaking. I’m very emotional. This sport can be the best in the world but sometimes it can be the hardest within an instant.
“He went out there and showed everyone what he could do with a scintillating performance. Nobody could say he wasn’t enjoying 스포츠토토사이트 himself and I thought he jumped as well as any horse has around Cheltenham, he was brilliant.
“He did everything right and I’m just devastated for everyone in the team, his owner and Esme Cook, who rode him out every day and looked after him. He was her best friend. It was something [the victory] we were looking forward to celebrating, but it’s just really sad.”
Bowen made a brief comment on Twitter, writing: “A horrible day losing ABuffaloSoldier. He was brilliant today and I couldn’t be more devastated for Warren, his team and his owners”.