Jockey 'more upset than anybody' after horse death

Micheal Nolan competes for trainers Philip Hobbs and Johnson White Racing

Jockey Micheal Nolan says he was "absolutely heartbroken" and "more upset than anybody" after his horse Celebre D'Allen died following the Grand National.

The 13-year-old horse had led towards the end of Saturday's race at Aintree but was pulled up by Nolan after the final fence before collapsing on the track.

"Ten strides before the second-last fence I thought I might win the Grand National and then two strides after the last I knew something had gone wrong," Nolan told the Racing Post.

"That's how quick I went from travelling so easy and you can almost see the winning post from where you are, to getting off him and trying your best to help him; to coming in and getting a ban and then abuse on social media."

Nolan was handed a 10-day suspension after Aintree stewards ruled he had "continued in the race when the horse appeared to have no more to give and was clearly losing ground after the second-last fence".

He deactivated his social media accounts after receiving a high volume of abuse.

After initially showing signs of recovery, Celebre D'Allen's condition "deteriorated significantly" and he died on Tuesday.

A post-mortem examination determined he died from a "severe bacterial respiratory infection" that developed after the race.

Tests found the horse's immune system was "severely compromised" after the "exercise-associated episode" during the race.

But the post-mortem found that the effects of the incident had "concluded by the time of death".

"It's been portrayed that I don't care about horses," Nolan added.

"That's what the media are saying but in fact it's the other way round. I'm obsessed with horses; I love them and I care deeply. I was absolutely heartbroken when the horse died, more than anyone can imagine.

"The only thing I want people to know is that I'm more upset than anybody that something has happened and that if I'd thought for a moment that I might cost him his life or cause him a bad injury, then I would never have jumped the last."

Celebre D'Allen's death prompted criticism from animal rights groups, with Animal Rising saying the sport of horse racing was to blame for the horse's death.