Envoye Special suffered a fatal injury after unseating his rider while racing over the Grand National fences on the opening day at Aintree.
The winning hunter chaser was competing in the Randox Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase for amateur riders, the only race of the day staged on the Grand National course. He was being ridden by James King and was in the front rank early when he lost his partner at the ninth fence, the one before Becher’s Brook.
The Kieran Burke-trained nine-year-old continued riderless but was injured when falling at one of the subsequent fences. He was assessed by Aintree’s on-course veterinary team but the track subsequently confirmed he had unfortunately sustained a fatal injury.
