The man who skilled the horse that suffered a deadly fall at Saturday’s Grand National has blamed “ignorant” protesters for his animal’s demise.
The Aintree flagship race was delayed by nearly quarter-hour after protesters tried to enter the racecourse and repair themselves to the fences and railings alongside the route.
Hill Sixteen – skilled by Sandy Thomson – suffered a deadly fall on the first fence.
The Scottish handler described the horse as “hyper” because of the protests, and blamed the activists for why it fell for the primary time in his profession.
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“He just hasn’t taken off at the first fence; he’s got so bloody hyper because of the carry on,” he instructed the Racing Post.
He stated he tried to calm the horse by washing him off however to no avail. Hill Sixteen needed to be put down after the race was over.
“Unfortunately, it’s a statistic we’re all trying to avoid,” Thomson stated. “He’s jumped round here twice and never had a bother. I don’t know when he last fell.
“I understand how ignorant these persons are and so they have not a bloody clue. They simply trigger extra issues than they ever clear up.”
Horse deaths ‘unavoidable’ in racing
But Animal Rising instructed Sky News its actions on the Grand National “aimed to prevent exactly that from happening”.
The group stated: “Firstly, we want to offer our deepest condolences to anyone connected to Hill Sixteen or who has been impacted by their death. Animal Rising’s actions at The Grand National aimed to prevent exactly that from happening.
“Horse deaths and accidents are an unavoidable consequence of the best way we use animals for sport, not dissimilar to the best way we trigger billions of animal deaths in our meals system.
“The only way to prevent more harm from coming to these beautiful creatures is by completely re-evaluating our connection to them and finding a way of loving them that doesn’t put them in harm’s way.
“We’d welcome dialogue with Sandy Thomson or Jimmy Fyffe about easy methods to transfer forwards collectively and actually rework our relationship to horses and, certainly, to all animals and nature.”
Hill Sixteen had previously raced over the National fences twice – finishing second in the 2021 Becher Chase and seventh in this year’s running of the same race.
More than 118 animal rights protesters were arrested on Saturday – although 42 were later “de-arrested”. More than 60 remain in custody.
Three horses die at Aintree
Hill Sixteen was the third racehorse to die through the Grand National assembly, watched by 70,000-strong crowds. Dark Raven died earlier within the day and Envoye Special died on Thursday, the primary day of the three-day competition.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has since stated it’s going to “analyse” the races “in painstaking detail” following the deaths.
“The BHA and Aintree racecourse will now analyse the races in painstaking detail, as is the case every year, to build on our existing data and help us understand what caused these incidents,” BHA chief government Julie Harrington stated.
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British Horseracing Authority to ‘analyse’ Grand National ‘in painstaking element’
Roly Owers, the chief government of charity World Horse Welfare, referred to as it a “very sad day”.
He stated: “From Aintree to television screens across the world, this year’s meet was difficult to watch. The loss of Envoye Special, Dark Raven, and Hill Sixteen is heart-breaking and we offer our condolences to their connections who we know will be devastated.
“Whilst it is true that accidents can happen anywhere – and the risks can never be removed altogether – jump racing poses specific risks that it has a responsibility to relentlessly reduce wherever possible.
“It is obvious to us that regardless of the modifications made by Aintree and racing to this point, way more must be achieved.”
Source: information.sky.com”