{"id":6321,"date":"2026-04-10T19:39:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T19:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=6321"},"modified":"2026-04-10T19:39:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T19:39:46","slug":"grand-national-jockey-explains-why-gold-dancer-was-not-pulled-up-after-breaking-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=6321","title":{"rendered":"Grand National jockey explains why Gold Dancer was not pulled up after breaking back"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\"Gold\t<\/div>
Paul Townend rode Gold Dancer to victory before the horse was put down with a broken back (PA Wire)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Paul Townend did not immediately realise the severity of Gold Dancer\u2019s injury after the horse died with a broken back during the Grand National Meeting at Aintree on Friday.<\/p>\n

Gold Dancer dragged his back legs through the final fence and landed awkwardly but went on to win the Mildmay Novices\u2019 Chase by four lengths before collapsing.<\/p>\n

Townend, who continued to whip Gold Dancer after his stumble on the last, eased the seven-year-old horse down to a trot after crossing the finishing line and quickly dismounted before screens were put up.<\/p>\n

Shortly after, it was announced that Gold Dancer could not be saved, while Townend was the subject of a routine stewards\u2019 enquiry following the horse\u2019s death before it was confirmed that the jockey would not face punishment.<\/p>\n

According to James Given, the British Horseracing Authority\u2019s director of equine regulation, safety and equine welfare, Townend told the enquiry that Gold Dancer \u2018felt normal\u2019 after the stumble on the final fence and that there was \u2018no indication\u2019 that the horse had suffered a fatal injury.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Horse\t<\/div>
Gold Dancer stumbled on the last fence after clipping his back legs (Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018What happened with the horse I\u2019m sure everyone\u2019s seen, he\u2019s slipped on landing after the last, his hind quarters and legs went to the right-hand side but he popped up very quickly and then galloped away,\u2019 Given told Racing TV.<\/p>\n

\u2018I was in the enquiry when, correctly, the stewards were looking into what happened and I was able to watch the replay from the front and the back and the horse stayed as straight as an arrow, so there\u2019s no indication at that point that there was anything amiss.<\/p>\n

\u2018He [Townend] said all a jockey could do is go on how the horse feels and the horse felt normal to him. It was only when he crossed the finishing line, the finishing line is slightly immaterial here, it\u2019s actually when he was turning left and was when going down from a canter to a trot, a canter is a smoother, rolling action to a trot, a more of a stumpy action, and only when that happened that he felt something change in the horse\u2019s action that was amiss. He puled the horse straight up, dismounted and let the vets attend the horse.<\/p>\n

\u2018The horse stayed, as I say, absolutely straight, he came up, there was no hanging, the hind feet were following exactly the front feet, it was a symmetric action, it wasn\u2019t an asymmetric action, no quarters out to one side or another, it was only when that action changed from a canter down to a trot that the effects of that slip became apparent and the horse showed there was something gone amiss.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"LIVERPOOL,\t<\/div>
Paul Townend told an enquiry that he did not realise Gold Dancer was injured (Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Asked why Gold Dancer could not be saved, Given replied: \u2018The horse had collapsed and was unable to rise and the working diagnosis at that point was a fracture to his sacroiliac, lumbar region and at that point there was no ability to recover the horse in that recumbent position.<\/p>\n

\u2018It certainly is [a catastrophic fracture], he\u2019s going to have a post-mortem so we will have an absolute diagnosis of what went wrong. But these are very experienced vets who have unfortunately seen other things like this who are dealing with him.<\/p>\n

\u2018They were able to examine him and see neurological responses to his hind limbs and so on as to what had gone wrong and were then forced to make that decision.\u2019<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Willie Mullins, who was Gold Dancer\u2019s trainer, also defended Townend\u2019s decision to carry on with the race.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a big loss because he\u2019s a horse we thought was improving all the time,\u2019 Mullins said.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"EDITORIAL\t<\/div>
Gold Dancer collapsed shortly after winning the race (Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018To give such an exhibition of jumping, to give his owner, give me, give Paul, all the people who backed him such a thrill, and then for that to happen after the line is unbelievable. Unbelievable.<\/p>\n

\u2018I haven\u2019t spoken to Paul about the stewards enquiry but he said to me that the horse galloped through the line fine and went down to a slow pace canter. Just as he was turning he went into a trot and that was the first he felt anything. He felt the horse was fine going through the winning post, pulling up in a canter. You have to turn the bend, he pulled on the rein to turn and next thing the horse lost his action. He\u2019s assuming whatever happened, happened there.<\/p>\n

\u2018Everyone has to gather their thoughts. I wanted the vets to go and look and see what they think. I\u2019ll probably talk to them after the last race. What\u2019s done is done. What\u2019s happened has happened. I\u2019m sure they\u2019re looking to see what actually happened if they do an autopsy.<\/p>\n

\u2018I would say Paul didn\u2019t feel the horse had any damage and he galloped all the way to the line. That\u2019s what you do when you\u2019re a rider, like a forward going for goal, you keep going and kick the ball into the net if you can. It\u2019s the same with a jockey. Unless they feel the horse\u2019s action is really wrong, he\u2019s not going to stop. If he stops, he\u2019ll lose his licence and the punters will say \u2018why did you pull him up?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018He didn\u2019t feel anything was wrong. Horses make mistakes and people out running trip and get up and go on and run another 10 miles and only find out later that night they\u2019ve pulled a muscle somewhere. It\u2019s just life. We can\u2019t legislate for everything. People go on with their daily lives and their daily sports. You do what you have to do. That\u2019s the way I look at it. If Paul thought there was something wrong, he\u2019d be the first man to pull it up.\u2019<\/p>\n

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