Paul Townend has been defended after Gold Dancer was put down following his win at Aintree on Friday.
The seven-year-old had won the Mildmay Novices’ Chase on day two of the Grand National Festival.
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However, Gold Dancer suffered a broken back during the race and had to be put down moments afterwards.
The horse dragged its back legs through the final fence before winning by four lengths under Townend for trainer Willie Mullins.
There were immediate concerns, though, as he was pulled up after crossing the finishing line.
Townend dismounted as veterinary screens were put up around Gold Dancer.
Despite receiving treatment on the course, the horse sadly had to be put down.
Owners Gigginstown confirmed the devastating news, stating: “He’s been put down. He broke his back. It’s terribly sad for the horse.
“What could Paul Townend do? He felt fine, it was just when he pulled up that something was wrong.”
talkSPORT verdict
talkSPORT’s Lizzie Kelly also leapt to Townend’s defence after he rode out Gold Dancer for the win before dismounting the horse.
The former jockey explained it is unlikely he would have been aware of the injury until he had crossed the finishing line.
She told talkSPORT’s Hawksbee & Jacobs: “I think what is really important to remember is that obviously as a jockey, you don’t really have a huge amount of information when you’re on top of the racehorse.
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“It’s very easy to see things when you’re watching but when you’re actually sat on the horse, it’s really difficult to have all of the information.
“So when the horse made a mistake, obviously he’s then got to try and collect the horse back together and then get that horse to carry on racing.
“He would not have known and there is absolutely no way he would have known that the horse had broken its back.
“I expect that from what I could see, he’s ridden him away and thought, ‘right, I’ll just carry on and go and win this race,’ unaware of the situation and because of the adrenaline running through the racehorse, that horse wouldn’t have felt as like there was a problem.
“Probably I think you saw Paul Townend look down didn’t you? And he immediately put his stick down and kind of stopped riding him.
“Obviously at that point I think Paul Townend probably realised the horse didn’t feel 100 per cent and so therefore he’s essentially eased this horse down as best he could.
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BHA issue statement on Gold Dancer
“We are all saddened by the fatal injury of Gold Dancer following today’s William Hill Mildmay Novices’ Chase and our thoughts are with everybody connected to the horse.
“After the race, the stewards held an enquiry to consider the circumstances of this incident and took evidence from vets and the horse’s jockey, Paul Townend.
“Paul Townend told the stewards that, following a bad mistake at the final fence, Gold Dancer took a stride or two to gather himself but felt sound and continued running in a straight line to the finish. He then reported that Gold Dancer’s action changed after the line, as he rounded the bend and changed from a canter to a trot, at which point he immediately dismounted to allow veterinary surgeons to quickly attend to the horse.
“The veterinary assessment was that the appropriate course of action was to humanely euthanise the horse.
“Having reviewed the footage of the incident, James Given, the BHA’s Director of Equine Regulation, Safety and Welfare, agreed that Gold Dancer’s action was typical of a horse in the closing stages of such a race, that he appeared sound until rounding the bend, at which point he was immediately dismounted.
“As is the case with any fatal injury, the incident will now be looked at in detail through our fatality review process, which is part of the sport’s commitment to ongoing improvements in racehorse safety.”
“I think the fact that he got off the horse as quickly as he did afterwards, at that stage he realised.”
Kelly continued: “There is a serious problem here and I would very much want people to kind of think about all of those aspects of riding a horse. It’s literally not as easy as it looks and it is very difficult to know exactly what’s happening.
“Sometimes when you’re riding in a race you might feel that the horse feels a little bit uncollected, a little bit unusual but that can be so many different things and it might actually even be the jockey.
“You might think, ‘oh it feels a bit weird,’ and then you sort of realise you’re out of rhythm with the horse and that’s possibly what would have been happening with Paul Townend and Gold Dancer.”
Townend is set to be on board favourite I Am Maximus for Saturday’s Grand National.
The Mullins-trained 10-year-old won the race in 2024 before finishing second behind Nick Rockett last year.
With Nick Rockett a non-runner this time around, I Am Maximus remains the favourite for the race, which is scheduled to begin at 4pm.
Townend was the winning jockey when the horse claimed victory at Aintree two years ago.
