Why did spooked
Aintree tragedy could have been avoided, say racing experts
A CHAMPION horse killed after falling at the Grand National should never have been allowed to race after it became spooked before the start, experts said yesterday.
Millions saw Gold Cup winner Synchronised throw its rider before poignantly galloping alone in front of the grandstand ahead of the race on Saturday.
It was eventually retrieved by officials and reunited with its jockey Tony Mccoy at the start. However, it was to die in the race a few minutes later after it fell twice.
Racing pundit John Mccririck was among those who said the horse, one of the favourites, should not have started the race when there were doubts over its physical and mental well-being.
And before the race began BBC presenter Clare Balding commented that Synchronised ‘did not look up for it’ as the horse appeared jittery when Mccoy ‘showed it’ the first fence before racing.
Synchronised won the Cheltenham Gold Cup a month ago but lasted just six of the 30 fences before falling at notorious Becher’s Brook.
The nine-year-old carried on racing ‘riderless’ for a further five fences before falling again and breaking a hind leg. The agonising decision was then made to put the horse down by lethal injection beside the track where it fell.
Another horse, According to Pete, met the same grim fate, leading to angry calls for the Aintree event – first run in 1839 – to be made safer. The RSPCA called for an ‘urgent examination’
‘It’s clearly not safe enough’
and said it had serious concerns about the high number of horses included in the race, as well as the difficulty of some jumps.
The race was delayed when Mccoy fell from Synchronised before the start. The horse ran some distance down the course on its own before it was caught and a vet was then seen checking the animal’s heartbeat before it was ridden back to the start.
According to some experts, the gelding may not have been in the right condition to run the gruelling race.
As the horse and rider were filmed facing the first fence, Miss Balding commented on air: ‘I don’t think he fancies it much, you know.’ She added afterwards: ‘I know that’s a silly thing to say.’ Yesterday Miss Balding, an experienced horsewoman, wrote on Twitter: ‘It is wrong to wake up the morning after an event still upset about it.’
She also wrote messages saying there are too many horses in the Grand National, meaning they do not have enough room to jump and land safely.
Mccririck commented: ‘Racing must review whether horses should be allowed to take part if they get loose and run free.
‘For years, along with others, I’ve campaigned for horses to be withdrawn if they unnaturally exert themselves at such a crucial moment. The industry must act to cut down this kind of avoidable risk.’
The chief executive of the RSPCA, Gavin Grant, demanded significant changes to the race, where last year two horses were also killed.
‘It’s clearly not safe enough,’ he said yesterday, calling for an end to ‘death and suffering’ at Aintree.
He continued: ‘We recognise racing is part and parcel of the fabric of our country but we’ve all got a responsibility as human beings – after all the horses haven’t got a choice, they can’t make the decisions – to make racing as safe as it can be.
‘As far as the Grand National is concerned there are lots of factors, Firstly, the scale of the field. Forty horses is a heck of a lot.
‘Secondly, there are unique jumps there that horses aren’t experienced in going over and I think we need to look at those jumps again.’
The National was won by 33-1 shot Neptune Collonges, who beat Sunnyhillboy by a nose in the tighest ever finish.
Seabass came in third, the best ever finish for a horse ridden by a female jockey, Katie Walsh.
Both the dead horses fell at Becher’s Brook, a jump which has claimed more horses than any other in the iconic race.
Made of spruce trees, it is notorious because of the size and angle of the 6ft 9in drop on the landing side, which is lower than the take-off.
Synchronised came to grief on the first circuit, but managed to gallop onwards, jumping five more fences before falling again at the 11th.
Frank Berry, racing manager to multimillionaire owner JP Mcmanus, said: ‘It’s just one of those things. The horse looked perfect when he got up from the fall and he galloped away and jumped away afterwards.
‘When he was up and running again you’d be hoping he’d be fine afterwards, they usually are, but what happened happened and it was very sad.’
According To Pete fell when jumping the fence for the second time and colliding with another horse. It was put down after breaking its neck.
Professor Tim Morris, Director of Equine Science and Welfare for the British Horseracing Authority, said: ‘The Grand National undoubtedly represents a challenge to both horse and rider. It has inherent risks, but, working closely with Aintree and other stakeholders, we do all we can to minimise these risks while maintaining the unique character of the race. We will examine closely the circumstances which led to both incidents.’
Only 15 out of the 40 horses that started Saturday’s race, finished.
The deaths which marred the event came despite the introduction of new safety measures. Almost
£250,000 was spent by Aintree officials to implement the recommendations of a safety review following a public outcry over the deaths last year of Dooney’s Gate and Ornais.
Since 2000, ten horses have died in the National including Synchronised and According to Pete.
Julian Thick, managing director of Aintree Racecourse, said: ‘We are desperately sad at these two accidents and our sympathies are with the connections of both horses. When a horse gets hurt, everyone is deeply upset.’
The National, described as the world’s greatest steeplechase, is worth a record £975,000 in prize money, making it the richest jump race in Europe.
Thirty- three years ago, another winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup was killed the following month at the National. Alverton was ridden in both of those 1979 races by Jonjo O’neill – the man who trained Synchronised.
THE British Horseracing Authority yesterday promised a balanced and comprehensive review of the two horse deaths that scarred the John Smith’s Grand National for the second year running.
But when they have collated the statistics and reviewed the videos, the decisions they must take are to level out the drop on the landing side of fences, notably Becher’s Brook, and reduce the number of runners by up to a quarter.
Traditionalists will blanch at the prospect. Some will accuse me of betrayal of the sport on which I report, but after the deaths of Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Synchronised and According To Pete, drastic surgery is necessary.
The aftermath of Saturday’s race should have been celebration. After four-and-a-half miles and 30 jumps, the John Hales- owned Neptune Collonges, the first grey to win for 51 years, had beaten Sunnyhillboy by the thickness of a cigarette paper under an inspired ride from Daryl Jacob to secure the trainer’s championship for Paul Nicholls.
Back in third, Katie Walsh on Seabass had secured the best ever finish for a female jockey.
But memories of a race that fired my love of the sport are joyless. They are the grief of Synchronised’s trainer Jonjo o’neill and the grim faces of his owner JP Mcmanus and officials.
on the opening day of the meeting, I wrote about the significant changes undertaken since both Dooney’s Gate and ornais lost their lives a year ago.
They included beefed-up entry criteria to weed out potential risks as almost £250,000 was spent on a range of welfare measures.
Three fences were altered, including a five-inch reduction of the drop on the landing side of Becher’s. By next year it should be eliminated altogether.
The pity of Saturday’s tragedies is that they obscure the fact that the race had been enjoying its best ever safety record until the events of the past two years, with a fatality rate (1.5 per cent) half what it had been at the start of the 1980s.
But there are only so many knocks the race can take and the flow of negativity is dangerously close to
bursting its banks. I stand firm in my support of the race and desire to see it thrive but drop fences have become indefensible traps that need rectifying, as does the overcrowding caused by 40 runners.
Both deaths on Saturday were tragic accidents. Synchronised fell at Becher’s Brook but galloped on riderless and jumped five fences until the stumble that broke his hind leg. According To Pete had jumped Becher’s Brook on the second circuit when he cannoned into the prostrate on His own and broke a foreleg.
The key objective for the BHA must be to have fewer fallers. More runners on their feet is the safest option and it would not detract from the spectacle.
It wouldn’t make the race risk-free but would establish firmer foundations for a defence against those hell bent on its destruction. And it would still be just as exciting if 18 or 20 runners out of a line-up reduced from 40 to 30 crossed the Melling Road with a chance. Most of us who remember the victory of Bobbyjo in 1999 do not reflect on it as a lesser contest — yet only 32 runners lined up.
More can be done at Aintree and not just because we are concerned with the cosmetic appearance of the sport that has wider implications for jump racing.
More than 70,000 spectators were at Aintree on Saturday and the same number will be there next year no matter what happens. But we should want to make
changes — want to build on the welfare successes that have been achieved.
I want to be proud of the sport’s biggest day, just as I was of one aspect on Saturday.
A jockey ban for excessive use of the whip for a second successive year would have added to the furore but Jacob and, particularly, Richie Mclernon on the tiring runner-up Sunnyhillboy performed with admirable professionalism in pursuit of glory.
Their actions showed how seriously the current crop of competitors take their responsibilities to their mounts and the historic prize, when it would have been easy for them to recklessly chase victory at all costs.
Aintree and the BHA have shown the same responsibility in the last year. Their decisions now must be brave and bold.
m.townend@dailymail.co.uk TWELVE months ago I was involved in running the useful chaser Silver By Nature in the Grand National, trained by my partner Lucinda Russell. I doubt I could persuade the gelding’s owner to run if I had to ask him again. With almost £1million on offer in the Grand National and first prize double what’s on offer in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, better quality horses have been lining up at Aintree but I wonder if that can last unless there are more changes. Four deaths in two years makes me question what is acceptable risk. I’d support moves to eliminate the drops on the landing side of the fences and reducing the number of runners allowed to take part. It might be useful to consider schooling opportunities for horses to get used to the course before they race over it. Any runner who tackles the cross country chase at the Cheltenham Festival must have had a schooling session over the unusual obstacles it will not have experienced during a conventional race. Aintree has a relatively light racing programme and practice events could be staged. They could be behind closed doors or could even add to the build-up if they were filmed and allowed to become added information for punters. Ten million viewers watched this year’s Grand National, the last on the BBC, proving the public still have an appetite for the race despite the problems. The vocal minority who want it banned should not prevent us striving for constant improvements.