Racehorse Shallwehaveonemore has died after being injured during the opening race of the Cheltenham Festival.
The Gary Moore-owned runner was competing in Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle on the opening day of the festival and fell at the final fence of the race. The racecourse medical team were quick to attend the fall, following the end of the race won by Constitution Hill.
However, it was revealed soon after that Shallwehaveonemore was then put down after suffering fatal injuries. Following the tragic news a Cheltenham Racecourse spokesperson said: "Sadly Shallwehaveonemore sustained an injury in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
"He was immediately attended to by our highly experienced veterinary team, but after extensive treatment it was determined that it was necessary to put the horse to sleep. Our thoughts are with his connections.”
Fans took to social media to pay tribute to the racehorse following the devestating update after the day's first race. One said: "RIP Shallwehaveonemore. Absolute tragic news. Heart goes out to connections. Such a lovely animal with the world at his feet."
Another tweeted: "Shallwehaveonemore sadly won’t be - thoughts with all his human friends." A third added: "Absolutely gutted for connections of #Shallwehaveonemore at #Cheltenham So sad."
Shallwehaveonemore had raced six times on UK racecourses, winning twice. He posted an impressive 20-length triumph at Sandown on February 5.
The hurdler's other success came on debut, in a National Hunt flat race, in March last year. Overall the thoroughbred earned connections, including owner Steven Packham, just over £27,000.
Packham also has Goshen in the same stable, who unseated his jockey when looking certain to score in the 2020 Triumph Hurdle.
Constitution Hill led home a one-two for Nicky Henderson in the race, which will be remembered for the sad passing of Shallwehaveonemore.
Injuries such as this sadly occur occasionally and can happen 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 (i.e. training or racing).
One horse (Kings Temptation) was put down at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival from a total of 402 runners over the four days (0.25%). In 2020 one horse from a total of 462 runners was lost over the four days.
The British Horseracing Authority (governing body) inspects the course and confirms it fit to race to ensure that the required very high standards are reached.
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 0.2% of runners annually. This means that 99.8% of racehorses complete their races without serious injury, an improvement from 99.7% in 2006.
In that same 20 year period, Cheltenham Racecourse has taken a number of steps to further improve equine welfare.
