Racing: Ruptured artery killed Gait

A POST-MORTEM carried out on Royal Gait at the Irish Equine Centre in Kildare has established that the nine-year-old suffered a massive internal haemorrhage shortly before he collapsed and died at the end of a race at Leopardstown on Wednesday.

Michael Osborne, manager of the Kildangan Stud of Royal Gait's owner, Sheikh Mohammed, said: 'It was a spontaneous rupture of the major artery leaving the heart. It obviously happened when the horse was under pressure, probably as he was going to the last or on taking off. It was a fairly exhaustive autopsy but they found nothing else wrong with him. He had shown no sign of any problems before.'

The champion hurdler died moments after finishing fourth on his first run since his Cheltenham win. There will be a permanent memorial to him at the Kildangan Stud where he is to be buried.