1 week Ago By Martin Healy
Celebre D’Allen has died days after collapsing at the Grand National – with one animal rights group outraged by the situation.The 13-year-old has started well at the Aintree showpiece but appeared to come into some difficulty during the latter stages.Ridden by jockey Michael Nolan, the horse was struggling over the penultimate hurdle before pulling up altogether before the final fence.
Jockey Micheal Nolan on Celebre D’Allen in 2023. Pic: Sam Mellish/Getty ImagesThe gelding then collapsed on the Aintree turf and required immediate medical attention before then being seen walking onto a horse ambulance.The 125/1 Grand National outsider has since passed away with Nolan being handed a 10-day ban as a result.
The British Horseracing Authority stated that the rider had broken the rules by continuing on a horse that had been suffering difficulties.Runners and riders during the Randox Grand National Handicap Chase on day three of the Randox Grand National Festival at Aintree Racecourse. Pic: David Davies for The Jockey Club/PA WireAnimal Aid, a animal rights campaign group, have since hammered the horse racing industry following the death of ‘an innocent animal’.
‘It is absolutely heartbreaking that after being ridden in the Grand National Race until he had “no more to give”, Celebre d’Allen has died,’ the group’s campaigns manager Nina Copleston-Hawkens said in a statement.‘To allow a horse of this age to be ridden in the most gruelling race in the country is disgraceful – and the responsibility lies fairly and squarely with the British Horseracing Authority.‘It is staggering that the racing industry continues to weave its dishonest fairytale that horses are “lucky” to be born into the racing industry and that they live “the best life”.
‘Horses born into this industry live quite the opposite – a dystopian existence where they must exchange their speed on a racecourse or ability to reproduce in order to stay alive.‘Lives in training are restricted, exploitative and bleak. Once no longer of use, they become vulnerable to an uncertain or horrifying end.
Willie Mullins breaks down in tears after his son wins the Grand National ‘ If you are against animal-cruelty, then it logically follows that you are against horse-racing – and the Grand National is one of the most disturbing displays of this cruelty.’.
