World Horse Welfare ‘deeply saddened’ by death of Celebre d’Allen

Officials at World Horse Welfare hope lessons can be learned from the death of Celebre d’Allen in this year’s Grand National.

The 13-year-old, trained by Philip Hobbs and Johnson White and sent off as a 125-1 outsider, jumped the final fence but was then pulled up by jockey Micheal Nolan and collapsed on the racecourse.

He received treatment at Aintree and initially showed signs of making a recovery following a night in the track’s stables, but then deteriorated significantly and could not be saved.

Roly Owers, chief executive of WHW, said: “We are deeply saddened to hear about the death of Celebre d’Allen after last Saturday’s Grand National and our heart goes out to all those who cared for him.

“We know that the British Horseracing Authority is thoroughly investigating, which is absolutely the right approach. Every effort must be made to learn lessons from this very sad outcome.”

Addressing the horse’s veteran status, the BHA reported that there had been 24 Grand National runners aged 13 or over since 2000, with no fatalities up until 2024, while from 2014 to 2024 there were 30 runners aged 12 or above and no fatalities.

Acting BHA chief executive Brant Dunshea insisted that Celebre d’Allen, as with all entries, was provided with “a thorough check by vets at the racecourse” to ensure his “suitability to race in the National”.

He said: “The BHA and Aintree racecourse will analyse the race and this incident in detail, as is the case every year and with every fatal injury in any race. This will include the horse being sent for post-mortem.

“The process of reviewing every fatality allows us to build on our existing data and help us understand how all reasonable avoidable risk can be reduced in order to keep our horses and riders as safe as possible.

“This process previously led to the changes that were made to the Grand National in 2024, including the reduction in the number of runners. Prior to Saturday’s race there had been no fatal injuries in the previous nine races run over the Grand National course since the 2023 National.

“The steps we have taken to improve safety over the years reflects the great respect we have for our horses, and our commitment to their safety.”

Celebre d’Allen became the second horse to die after racing at the 2025 Grand National Festival, with the Willie Mullins-trained Willy De Houelle suffering a fatal fall in Thursday’s 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle.

The RSPCA posted on X: “We share in the shock and sadness at the death of Celebre d’Allen. Following the death of Willy De Houelle on the opening day, we have now seen two fatalities at this year’s Grand National festival.

“We await the British Horseracing Authority’s investigation into these deaths.”

The raceday stewards suspended Nolan for 10 days (April 19-26 and May 3 and 5) after an inquiry was held to consider whether 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”.