Grand National: According to Pete owner will not return

Cross-posted from BBC News

According to Pete falls at his second attempt at Becher's Brook during the 2012 Grand National. He was put down later due to injuries. Photo: SCOTT HEPPELL / AP

The owner of a horse that was put down after falling at a fence in the Grand National at Aintree has said he will not enter horses in the race again.

Peter Nelson, who lives at Helperby, near Boroughbridge, in North Yorkshire, owned According to Pete, who fell at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit.

The horse suffered a fractured leg and was put down at the scene.*

Mr Nelson said horse racing would always carry risks but that he would not enter the National again.

Mr Nelson, who has a village garage and paper shop, said: “It’s terrible. He was a family pet, part of the family.

According To Pete ridden by Harry Haynes goes onto win The Peter Marsh Steeple Chase at Haydock Park.

“Everybody’s absolutely upset. We’ve had loads of people knocking on the door.

“We’ve had loads of telephone calls and flowers given and bottles of wine.

“But all of that doesn’t bring him back, does it?”

Mr Nelson said 11-year-old According to Pete was “in the prime of his life” and had recently run at Wetherby and Haydock.

“It was devastating. We’d had him since he was a foal. We’ve still got his mother.

“We had a stable at the back of the garage and a little paddock for him to run in.”

Talking about the race, Mr Nelson said:

“If he’d have done well we’d have been chuffed for him, but it’s a chance you take. You always think it’s going to be someone else’s horse.”

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* Reports vary on the fatal injury suffered by According to Peter. Some say he broke a leg, others his shoulder, and most recently that he broke his back.

Synchronised and According to Pete killed in the Grand National

Synchronized riden by Tony McCoy, centre, wearing green silks with yellow bands, falls after jumping Becher's Brook. (Photo: AP/Scott Heppell)

Last update 8:33 pm

The Daily Telegraph reports:

It is the second time in two years that two horses have died in the Grand National. The deaths will reignite the controversy surrounding the sport.

Millions of television viewers saw Gold Cup winner Synchronised and According to Pete fall at the sixth fence – Becher’s Brook.

It came after Jockey Tony McCoy had earlier been unseated by Synchronised, this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, in the moments leading up to the start of the race.

The incident packed 165th Grand National was one of the most dramatic in history. Only fifteen of the 40 runners who started the race managed to finish.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/9204833/Grand-National-2012-sadness-as-Synchronised-and-According-to-Pete-die-at-Aintree.html

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THE HORSE KNOWS BEST

Synchronised did not want to race today. The start was delayed when he unseated jockey Tony McCoy. Or was it the hijinks of an excited racehorse? Perhaps. Race organizers said Synchronised was “thoroughly checked” by a veterinarian before allowing him to line up in the 40-horse field.

When I hear reports like these, I always think of Barbaro breaking through the gates at Pimlico, and veterinarians allowed him to run anyway. After all, a Triple Crown was on the line (see video). The same with the horses who were killed in the re-running of the Dubai Gold Cup. They were “thoroughly checked” and allowed to race again.

Then there is the beautiful and tragic George Washington who had to be literally dragged out to race in the Breeders’ Cup in the slop at Monmouth. He did not want to race that day either. Gorgeous George died minutes later when he was put down; his leg shattered (see images).

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