There was sad news from Leopardstown on Thursday afternoon after it emerged that both Three Stripe Life and Unexpected Depth had been put down after sustaining injuries during the Neville Hotels Novice Chase.
Both horses suffered fatal injuries in the race which was eventually won by the short-odds favourite Gaillard Du Mensil, with Paul Townend on board to steer the Willie Mullins-trained horse home.
But the race was unfortunately incident packed for all the wrong reasons; as well as the breakdown of the two horses, Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore had a fall as she came down off Amirite.
READ MORE: 'Lovely man' Henry de Bromhead hailed after emotional interview remembering son Jack in Leopardstown
Blackmore appeared to be OK after taking a tumble, but the fall of the Gordon Elliott-trained Three Stripe Life at the second last looked altogether more troubling.
The horse appeared to make a late attempt at clearing the fence and all of a sudden jockey Jack Kennedy was thrown from the saddle and the horse took a nasty tumble forward before landing awkwardly on its neck.
Elsewhere, Unexpected Depth pulled up in all kinds of trouble and jockey Danny Mullins had to take himself out of the running as the horse began to kick out and move erratically on the spot.
The horses were assessed on the course but sadly it was later announced that both had been put down following the race.
Horseracing fans took to social media to pay tribute following the news.
One post read: "Absolutely gutted to hear Three Stripe Life and Unexpected Depth suffered fatal injuries at Leopardstown.
"I followed Three Stripe Life everywhere last season and he never missed a beat.
"A true warrior. Thoughts with connections of both horses."
While another fan said: "Gutted to hear Three Stripe Life lost his life in the race at Leopardstown today.
"Had such an exciting future ahead of him."
Another fan pointed out how the sport can be cruel by times, saying: "Horrible race to watch.
"Three Stripe Life was a great prospect.
"Cruel game national hunt racing."
READ NEXT:
Carthach Daly targeting success with Waterford after scratching travel itch
Andy Friend: We need more of the attitude on show when Connacht earned Leinster's respect at the RDS
Johnny Sexton backed to speed up as new kicking clock will be in play for Leinster v Connacht
Messi's last World Cup finals dance ended in triumph. Can Johnny Sexton dare to dream of the same?
Jurgen Klopp 'intensifies' talks to pip Man Utd again to second Liverpool transfer
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
