Envoi Allen was competing in the Cheltenham Gold Cup before collapsing and dying
Envoi Allen has died aged 12-years-old after running in the Cheltenham Gold Cup(Image: Getty Images)
Envoi Allen has died after running in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Vets at the racecourse attended after he collapsed while walking back to the stables.
He is the third horse to die at this year’s Festival. Hansard and HMS Seahorse also died, albeit after falls.
The horse’s owners, Cheveley Park Stud, confirmed before the race that it would be the 12-year-old’s final run before retirement, and he finished ninth as the oldest contender, a place behind Harry Redknapp’s The Jukebox Man. Gaelic Warrior won the Gold Cup as joint-favourite by eight lengths from Jango Baie, who finished second, with Inothewayurthinkin third.
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A spokesperson for Cheltenham Racecourse said: “After completing in our fifth race of the day, Envoi Allen collapsed on course. He was immediately attended to by a team of veterinary experts, but sadly passed away. Envoi Allen was a supremely talented horse, and our heartfelt condolences are with all his connections.”
Envoi Allen’s death was sadly followed by that of Saint Le Fort, who fell during the final race of the week bringing the total number of horses who died during the 2026 edition of the Festival to four.
“Saint Le Fort was immediately attended to by a team of expert veterinary professionals during our seventh race of the day but sadly sustained an injury when falling at the final hurdle,” the racecourse said.“In their assessment, it was concluded that the best course of action for the horse’s welfare was for him to be humanely euthanised. Our heartfelt condolences are with his connections.”
Envoi Allen’s jockey Darragh O’Keeffe said: “Everything was grand and I was happy out there. He pulled up A1 and everything like that, but when we were trotting back (after the race), he collapsed. He was unbelievable and a special horse; he won numerous races, and it just happened so fast.”
Richard Thompson, from the horse’s owners, has said: “We didn’t see it, but the vets okayed them all after the race, and Darragh said he was pricking his ears after the race. He then went over as he was coming back onto the chute.
“He’d just retired, but then in a minute or two, he was gone. He was such a lovely little horse, and it wasn’t the ending we wanted. He’s been an incredible servant and just wonderful over the years. It’s such a sad way to go.”
Gold Cup-winning jockey Andrew Thornton reacted on BBC Radio 5 Live at Cheltenham. Thornton said: “That is a real dampener, he was a magnificent horse, and it was his eighth time at the Festival, it is difficult to take in a race like that.”
Their commentator, John Hunt, also paid tribute. He said: “Desperately sad news on what was Envoi Allen’s last run at Cheltenham, he was a 12-year-old.
“He had such a legion of supporters throughout his amazing career; he won three times at the Cheltenham Festival and was a 10-time grade one winner.
“Henry de Bromhead said, ‘he was so well at home that they had to let him run this afternoon’.” The horse moved from Gordon Elliott to De Bromhead during his career.
“He ran his race and pulled up at the top where there was a veterinary inspection where all the horses are looked at, they are passed fit and then trot down the walkway down toward coming back into the parade ring,” James Given, the BHA’s Director of Equine Regulation, Safety & Welfare, told Racing TV.
“Just as he got to the bottom, there was almost certainly an acute cardiovascular collapse and it happened very quickly.
“The vets were immediately with him but he was passing very quickly.”
Given added: “Obviously horses that haven’t been racing for a while, may be subject to slightly more investigation but he had already won a Grade One this season over three miles.
“He was given the normal pre-race examination this morning, had his heart listened to, trotted up, limbs checked – everything normal as you would expect and then, as I say, he was looked at after the race.
“It is cursory, just checking nothing is going wrong with any of the horses before they are allowed to come down the chute but sadly events overtook him.
“He is going to have a post-mortem, that will be conducted tomorrow. He will also have a fatality test to make sure nothing has been given to him. “I am not suggesting any of Henry’s horses would have been, but just to make sure there is nothing in his system that shouldn’t have been there.
“It is highly unlikely, but that will be checked. “There will be a fatality review process which goes through every fatality that happens on a racecourse which will examine what happened.
“I think, though, it is fairly straightforward, we know almost certainly what has happened. The post-mortem may confirm something more in the morning, but it is an acute cardiovascular collapse, almost certainly.”
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Envoi Allen won 17 of his 31 races and had earned more than £1 million in prize-money. De Bromhead’s travelling head person Zoe Smalley said: “It’s devastating. Lynn who looks after him is absolutely devastated. You never want to see it to a horse ever. He was a really special horse.
“I’m just pleased that it was quick, painless. He was in a place that he loved and significantly to us a rainbow popped up just afterwards.”
The Jockey Club – organisers of the Cheltenham Festival – says it works continuously to minimise the risks at its events and says the industry has spent £63m on equine welfare since 2000.
The Jockey Club says data shows the rate of fallers in horse races has declined in all of the last 21 years and is now just 1.98% of runners. The fatal injury rate in 2025 was just 0.22% of 86,300 runners, according to its figures.
It stated that recent improvements include changing of markers on jumps on all racecourses from orange to white, following research into equine vision; a change to padded hurdles to reduce fallers; and the introduction of a detailed review process within 48 hours of every fatality on a racecourse.
The Jockey Club said that the racing industry regularly consults with established welfare organisations such as World Horse Welfare, RSPCA and Blue Cross to ensure it continually meets the highest standards.
