Fourth horse dies at Cheltenham on final day of races

A third horse has died at this year's Cheltenham Festival after collapsing on the way back to stables following the Gold Cup race.

Envoi Allen, which finished ninth in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase, was, at age 12, the oldest contender in the race. Vets were not able to save the horse.

The Jockey Club, which runs Cheltenham Festival, has been approached for comment.

The League Against Cruel Sports charity said the death brings the total at Cheltenham Festival to 81 horses since 2000.

The race was set to be Envoi Allen's last, with its owners Cheveley Park Stud previously confirming he would retire.

He was considered a legend by fans of the sport, having won three times at Cheltenham. He was also a 10-time Grade 1 winner.

Cheveley Park Stud director Richard Thompson said: "We didn't see [the collapse]. The vets OK-ed them all [after the race] and Darragh [O'Keeffe, the jockey] said he was pricking his ears, then he came up and went over as he was coming out of the chute.

"He had just retired and he's just gone in a minute or two."

Thompson added: "He was such an unbelievable horse. This was not the ending we wanted, but unfortunately that is what has happened.

"He's been an incredible servant, wonderful over the years, and this is such a sad way to go."

James Given, of the British Horseracing Authority, told Racing TV the horse had "almost certainly" had a "very acute cardiovascular collapse".

"It happened very quickly, the vets were immediately with him but he was passing very quickly," Given said.

He said Envoi Allen had been subject to a standard pre-race examination in the morning before the race.

"He had his heart listened to, he was trotted up, his limbs were checked. Everything was normal as you'd expect," he said.

Emma Slawinski, chief executive at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "A third horse death in only four days is heartbreaking news but not a surprise – every year horses are raced to their deaths at the Cheltenham Festival.

"Since the turn of the century, the death toll of horses that have died at the festival has reached 81, which is simply shocking.

"There would be a huge outcry if this death toll happened in any other sport, so we need to start prioritising horse welfare."