DAY one of York’s star-studded Dante Festival was overshadowed by a ‘horrible, horrible incident’ in the second race.
Poor four-year-old colt Hispanic tragically died in the 2.45pm contest over six furlongs.
Trained by Mick Appleby, the former Aidan O’Brien horse flung jockey Rossa Ryan to the turf early on in the sprint.
Legendary old horse Summerghand appeared to get caught up in the melee but didn’t look to have got injured.
ITV Racing host Ed Chamberlin said it appeared to be a ‘horrible, horrible incident’.
He added: “That looked awful. I just saw Hispanic’s groom and she appeared very, very upset.
“‘Hispanic has had to be put down – you can feel the sadness around the racecourse.”
Incredibly, Aidan O’Brien’s RIver Tiber then took an almighty tumble in the next after clipping heels in yet another ‘really nasty’ flashpoint.
Jockey Tom Marquand was sent crashing to the floor but was reported to be OK afterwards, with River Tiber thankfully trotting off after the crash.
The terrible incidents came just days after Hidden Law suffered a fatal injury at Chester’s May Festival.
The three-year-old colt sadly went wrong just yards after passing the post in the Group 3 Chester Vase.
Trained by Charlie Appleby and owned by Godolphin, Hidden Law would likely have gone favourite for the Epsom Derby after his resounding three-length victory.
But instead connections were left to mourn what could have been, with a devastated Appleby saying: “He fractured his leg, unfortunately.
“He passed the line all OK and then when he’s crossed the road, he’s took a false step on it and he’s come down on it basically.
“It’s one of those very freak accidents. Unfortunately, we can only go on what we’ve seen and won’t see again for the future, it’s very disappointing.
“Most importantly, I feel so sorry for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and Team Godolphin.
“To have a horse like him potentially coming through the ranks was exciting for everybody. It’s a sad day.
“I have to thank everybody here at the course, they’ve been very accommodating and were very speedy in what they’ve done.
“I feel sorry for Wayne, the groom, and all the staff back at Moulton Paddocks, who have done so much work with this horse.
“Will Buick got up fine, which is the most important thing. He’s a bit shook from it because it’s not a nice thing to happen.”
Hispanic had won twice in 11 runs for O’Brien and was making his debut for Breeders’ Cup-winning trainer Appleby.
The race was won by 14-1 Aleezdancer for jockey Neil Callan and trainer Kevin Ryan.
