• Troubling scenes after final race on opening day
The last race on day one at the Festival turned into a very troubling spectacle, with twice as many fallers as finishers, and it ended with the death of Ballyward, who had started the race as the 9-4 favourite. In the moments after the National Hunt Chase, three sets of green screens were erected at different points on the course as vets scrambled to save the lives of fallen horses, providing a shocking scene for racegoers leaving the site.
Eventually, the screens at the second-last were taken down to reveal that Atlanta Ablaze and Mulcahys Hill had struggled to their feet. Moments later, Just Your Type emerged from behind screens at the final fence to prove that he had just been winded, and all three horses were able to walk off the course towards the stable block.
Written by Chris Cook at Cheltenham
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/12/horse-dies-ballyward-three-jockeys-suspended-cheltenham-festival-national-hunt-chase-horse-racing under the title “Horse dies and three jockeys suspended in Cheltenham Festival drama”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
