Punchestown race winner one of six horses to die as Cheltenham deathlist hits 10-year high

This year's Cheltenham festival saw the highest death-rate for horses in the last 10 years as six talented hurdlers perished during the famed English racing festival.

Among those was former Grade 1 winner No More Heroes who died in the RSA Chase on Wednesday afternoon after suffering tendon injuries before eventually being put down later that night. The Gordon Elliot trained six-year-old was very highly rated in Ireland after winning two Grade 1 races, the latest of which came in Leopardstown over the Christmas period.

No More Heroes also tasted victory in Punchestown last October, and Gordon Elliot was visibly upset by the loss of one of his best horses.

“You never like losing any horse in that way, especially a very good one like him,” he said.

“He won his two Grade 1 chases and had a big future, but unfortunately it was a very bad injury and nothing could be done to save him.”

A group that is campaigning to boycott the Cheltenham Festival have immediately jumped in to condemn the treatment of the horses at the racecourse, branding it a 'shameful event'.

Animal Aid Horse Racing Consultant, Dene Stansall said; "The horses, who are supposedly cherished by the world of racing, are merely disposable commodities, as we have seen this week. The British Horseracing Authority and Channel 4 do their best to conceal the bad news, remaining almost silent as yet more horses fall victim to the greed and exploitation that characterise this annual, shameful event."