Cheltenham fans were left in a state of shock as a horse died moments after winning a race on a bleak day that involved three fatalities inside an hour.
Abuffalosoldier collapsed immediately after winning the 2:55 at Cheltenham on Sunday - part of the course's November schedule - with medics rushing to its aid and immediately surrounding it with green screens - the standard course of action for any collapsed animal.
Unfortunately, the horse died at the scene, with a statement from Cheltenham Racecourse reading: “The winner of our fourth race, Abuffalosoldier, collapsed after the line and was immediately attended by expert veterinary professionals, but sadly could not be saved,” said a statement from Cheltenham Racecourse. Our heartfelt condolences are with his connections."
A second horse, Bangers and Cash, also suffered a fatal fall during the same race. The statement continued: “Bangers And Cash was immediately attended to by our expert veterinary team but sadly sustained a fatal injury. Our heartfelt condolences are with his connections.”
A statement from the British Horseracing Authority, which also noted a third death at Cheltenham on Sunday when Napper Tandy passed away in the following race, said: “The losses of Abuffalosoldier, Bangers And Cash and Napper Tandy at Cheltenham today are a tragedy for all connections and the thoughts of all of us at the BHA are with them. All three were provided with outstanding care and attention throughout their lives by those who cared for them and nobody will be more heartbroken tonight than those individuals.
“As with all fatalities, we will seek to understand the circumstances behind each incident as we strive to continue to reduce avoidable risk in our sport. All factual data relating to fatal injury rates in British racing can be found at www.horsepwr.co.uk and the overall fatal injury rate in Jump racing is 0.42% of runners.”
Meanwhile, the ITV commentary team gave their own condolences after the incident. Ed Chamberlain, said: "I'm afraid the news has just come through Jon Pullin here at Cheltenham that Abuffalosoldier collapsed and died after our latest race here at Cheltenham. It's desperate really for Esme Cook who looked after the horse, Sean Bowen who rode such a brave winner of the race.
"He jumped so brilliantly - heroic. And Mahler and the Wailers, the owners who we heard from beforehand and poor Warren Greatrex, the trainer as well. So desperately sad, this is one sport that takes you the highs and lows, I'm afraid." He added: "It is a very sad and sombre Cheltenham right now."
Fans of the sport watching across the UK were quick to take to social media to share their own condolences, with one writing on X: "Poor Sean Bowen, been on the floor 3 times today, once before a race, once during a race, and then wins and ends up on the floor again. Poor Abuffalosoldier didn’t deserve that."
Another added: "Sleep Tight Abuffalosoldier," while sharing a photo of the horse, while a third said: "Abuffalosoldier just collapsed after the race. How tragic can it get. Horrible scenes." A fourth penned: "Racing can be awful - not even interested in any of the bets I have on for the rest of the day now. Abuffalosoldier and Bangersandcash passing has me sick to my stomach."
Meanwhile, a fifth wrote: "Absolute desperate stuff, that’s put a complete downer on my whole day and probably the meeting. RIP Abuffalosoldier, hopefully they can name the race after him out of respect because you won’t see many better winners of it."
Figures show that in Britain, 14,000 horses enjoy a high level of care and a quality of life. British racing has self-imposed and enforced welfare standards with millions of pounds invested into veterinary research and education.
In the last 20 years a constant commitment and investment in minimising avoidable risk has seen the number of horses sustaining fatal injuries on racecourses decrease by a third, to 0.18% of runners by 2021. Injuries are sadly sustained in horse racing and can also happen while running around a paddock at home training on gallops or at a racecourse.
Independent research by the Centre for Equine Studies at Liverpool University found horses are nearly five times more likely to sustain serious injury when in a field at home than during ridden exercise.
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