A horse that collapsed during the Grand National has died.
Celebre d’Allen was pulled up – stopped from racing – by rider Micheal Nolan after the final fence of the 30-fence race at Aintree on 5 April before collapsing.
The 13-year-old horse, trained by Philip Hobbs and Johnson White, remained at the course overnight on Saturday before being taken back to the trainers’ stables for further treatment.
They confirmed on Tuesday that the horse had died after he “deteriorated significantly” overnight.
“We’re heartbroken to share that Celebre d’Allen has passed away,” Mr Hobbs and Mr White said in a statement.
“He received the very best treatment by the veterinary teams and was improving. However, he deteriorated significantly last night and could not be saved. He was a wonderful horse and we will all miss him greatly.”
Image: Jockey Micheal Nolan has been suspended for 10-days. Pic: PA
Jockey Mr Nolan has been given a 10-day suspension by race day stewards after an inquiry found he continued to ride Celebre d’Allen beyond the penultimate fence, even though the horse “appeared to have no more to give and was clearly losing ground”.
Brant Dunshea, acting chief executive of regulatory body the British Horseracing Authority, said: “All of us at the BHA are saddened to learn of the death of Celebre d’Allen following Saturday’s Randox Grand National.
“It has been clear to see since Saturday afternoon just how much the horse meant to his connections and we send our condolences to them today.
“As with all runners in the Grand National, Celebre d’Allen was provided with a thorough check by vets at the racecourse. This health check includes a trot up, physical examination of limbs to check for any heat, pain or swelling, and listening to the heart to check for any murmur or rhythm disturbance.
“This marks the final step in an extensive process of checks to ensure a horse’s suitability to race in the National, which also includes a review of veterinary records and assessment by a panel of experts to consider a horse’s race record and suitability to race.
“As part of this process the horse would also have been examined by the trainer’s own vet on the two occasions, a month apart.”
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He said the BHA and Aintree will analyse the race and Celebre d’Allen’s collapse in detail to “understand how all reasonable avoidable risk can be reduced in order to keep our horses and riders as safe as possible”.
He said there will also be a post-mortem. Celebre d’Allen was the oldest horse in this year’s field.
Since the inaugural Grand National in 1839, nearly 90 horses have died. The race has long been the focus of animal rights activists.
A number of new measures were introduced last year in an attempt to make the race safer. Changes included reducing the number of competitors, a standing start, making one of the fences shorter, and adding foam and rubber toe boards to every fence.
