Three horses die in sad day at Cheltenham

Abuffalosoldier among those lost after winning Holland Cooper Chase live on ITV

- Greg Wood

The winner's enclosure remained empty after the big handicap chase here yesterday and the remainder of Cheltenham's November meeting unfolded in sombre mood on a day when three of the 40 runners in the five jumps races on the card, including Abuffalosoldier, the winner of a valuable handicap chase shown live on ITV Racing, did not return home.

Abuffalosoldier collapsed shortly after passing the post as the winner of the Holland Cooper Handicap Chase, and as ITV Racing's on-course reporter, Alice Plunkett, was concluding a post-race interview with his rider, Sean Bowen. The incident came less than five minutes after a similar mid-race collapse by Bangers And Cash, after jumping the 14th fence. Both horses were subsequently confirmed to have suffered a suspected cardiovascular collapse.

The third fatality of the afternoon occurred in the next race, the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle, which was also shown live on ITV. Napper Tandy, a 66-1 outsider, was put down after sustaining a serious injury in a fall at the second-last flight.