Celebre d’Allen, who collapsed on the run-in at the Grand National at Aintree on Saturday, has died, Philip Hobbs and Johnson White, the 13-year-old’s co-trainers, said on Tuesday morning.
Celebre d’Allen, who in the stewards’ view “had no more to give” after the second last, was able to walk into a horse ambulance after being treated on the track for exhaustion. He had been moved to a nearby livery yard in the hope he would continue his recovery, but “took a downturn” on Monday night.
“We’re heartbroken to share that Celebre d’Allen has passed away,” the trainers said. “He received the very best treatment by the veterinary teams and was improving. However, he deteriorated significantly last night and could not be saved. He was a wonderful horse and we will all miss him greatly.”
Brant Dunshea, the acting chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said: “All of us at the BHA are saddened to learn of the death of Celebre d’Allen.
“It has been clear to see since Saturday afternoon just how much the horse meant to his connections and we send our condolences to them today.
“As with all runners in the Grand National, Celebre d’Allen was provided with a thorough check by vets at the racecourse. This health check includes a trot up, physical examination of limbs to check for any heat, pain or swelling, and listening to the heart to check for any murmur or rhythm disturbance.”
Dunshea also confirmed that Celebre d’Allen will be subject to a postmortem examination as part of the BHA’s procedures after any fatality on the track. “The BHA and Aintree racecourse will analyse the race and this incident in detail, as is the case every year and with every fatal injury in any race,” he said.
“The process of reviewing every fatality allows us to build on our existing data and help us understand how all reasonable avoidable risk can be reduced in order to keep our horses and riders as safe as possible.
“This process previously led to the changes that were made to the Grand National in 2024, including the reduction in the number of runners [from 40 to 34]. Prior to Saturday’s race there had been no fatal injuries in the previous nine races run over the Grand National course since the 2023 National.”
Patrick Mullins, the winning jockey aboard Nick Rockett, was suspended on Tuesday for eight days having been found to have used his whip once above the permitted level of seven after the final fence in the race.
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Greg Wood’s analysis
The Grand National’s immense and continuing popularity – as many as one in three British adults are estimated to have had an interest of some sort in the outcome of Saturday’s race – also means that it is the only race, among 10,000 each year, over jumps and on the Flat, with the potential to do significant and lasting damage to the sport’s public image.
Everything about the Grand National is magnified, exaggerated and, at times, distorted, and the unusual circumstances surrounding Celebre d’Allen’s running and riding are, inevitably, attracting much comment and criticism.
Michael Nolan, the 13-year-old’s rider, was suspended for 10 days by the Aintree stewards when the officials found he had “continued in the race when the horse appeared to have no more to give and was clearly losing ground after the second-last fence”.
The fences at Aintree are easier than they have ever been after the latest changes before the 2023-24 season. There were no fallers in last year’s National and three this time around, including Broadway Boy, who continues to recover at Nigel Twiston-Davies’s yard, but could easily have suffered far worse.
That means in turn there are significantly more horses still in the running at the business end of the race. Celebre d’Allen, a 125-1 chance, jumped into a narrow lead over the third-last, with at least a dozen opponents within striking distance.
But he was 10th, at best, over the second-last and Nolan was starting to ease off soon afterwards. On an unseasonally warm afternoon, it is possible Celebre d’Allen would still have collapsed had his rider pulled him up before jumping the last, but the fact Nolan asked the 13-year-old to clamber through made it an open-and-shut breach of the rules for the officials.
Nottingham 2.05 Dan Tucker 2.35 Looking For Lynda 3.05 Cameron Highlander 3.35 Bownder 4.05 Antiquity (nap) 4.35 Al Quareem. 5.05 War Hawk 5.35 Born A Rebel
Catterick 2.13 Mews House 2.43 She Went Whoosh 3.13 Twoforthegutter 3.43 Tawasol 4.13 Coconut Bay 4.45 Kisskodi (nb) 5.20 Act Of Violence
Taunton 2.25 Mfanwy’s Magic 2.55 Rascallion 3.25 Taritino 3.55 Spotty Dog 4.25 Florencethemachine 4.58 Bumpy Evans 5.30 Big Boy Barney
Kempton 5.10 Viamarie 5.40 Life Is Beautiful 6.10 Cosmic Year 6.40 Arctic Thunder 7.10 One For Harvey 7.40 Arlecchino’s Rex 8.10 Justenzia
Nolan will be as distraught as any of Celebre d’Allen’s connections, if not more so. He made a mistake, as we all can at moments of significant pressure, and has received significant, and in many cases inexcusable, criticism and abuse on social media.
A further issue for the BHA to consider, though, is whether a modern Grand National is the right place for a 13-year-old horse. It has never been much of a race for teenagers. Peter Simple, at 15, was the oldest Aintree winner, way back in 1853, and the only 13-year-olds to win were Why Not, in 1894, and Sergeant Murphy, in 1923.
Two 13-year-olds have made the frame in the past 10 years, while Bless The Wings, third at that age in 2018, finished 13th of the 40 runners as a 14-year-old 12 months later.
Hereford 2.00 Court In A Storm 2.35 Everyonesgame 3.10 Pittsburg 3.45 Time Interval 4.20 My Virtue 4.53 King Of Brazil 5.23 Sinchi Roca
Newton Abbot 2.10 Famoso 2.45 Iris Des Issards 3.20 Merry Shuil 3.55 Coconut Twist 4.30 Jaramillo 5.05 Border Gem
Lingfield 2.27 Harpsichord 3.02 Meleri 3.37 Annsar 4.12 Lilkian (nb) 4.45 Midnightattheoasis 5.18 Woodhay Whisper 5.53 Spoilt
Newcastle 5.00 Cusack 5.30 Bruce Banner 6.00 Double Parked 6.30 Camzara 7.00 Grant Wood (nap) 7.30 Francis Drake 8.00 Cuban Fiesta 8.30 Wyvern
The latest changes to the National course, though, have already made it feel like a very different race and one that suits horses at a much earlier stage of their careers. Nick Rockett won on his ninth chase start, while three of the next five home had the minimum six starts over fences required to qualify.
Are older horses, in general, more susceptible to exhaustion on a warm spring day, particularly over a marathon trip? It is the kind of question the BHA’s database was set up to answer. In addition to the minimum age limit of seven, the answer could conceivably lead to a maximum age for National runners.
