Tragedy strikes on Grand National Day moments after Sir Alex Ferguson lands winner

Sir Alex Ferguson claimed a victory on Grand National Day but the occasion was quickly marred by another horse death at Aintree.

The William Hill Handicap Hurdle was won by Wade Out at 18/1, a horse part-owned by the former Manchester United manager.

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Getty

It is the second-consecutive year Fergie has won big on Grand National Day after he struck gold with Kalif Du Berlais last year.

However, the mood quickly turned sour as Get On George had to be put down after the race.

The six-year-old pulled up and was quickly dismounted by jockey Jack Tudor, who spotted an issue after going wrong on the flat.

Vets attended to Get On George and made the difficult decision to put the horse down.

The promising gelding had a fantastic season with two winners this campaign and enjoyed his best-ever race last time out when placing second in the Grade 3 at Sandown last month.

More tragedy

The news comes after the shocking death of Gold Dancer at Aintree yesterday.

talkSPORT’s Lizzie Kelly defended jockey Paul Townend, who came in for criticism in some quarters for riding out to victory before dismounting the horse.

She told 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.

“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.

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“He would not have known and there is absolutely no way he would have known that the horse had broken its back.”

Joy for Sir Alex

Wade Out’s victory in the 1.20pm race on Grand National Day came after he was fitted by first-time blinkers by trainer Olly Murphy.

He said: “I thought he’d win the National Hunt Chase but he laughed at me for the whole three miles and five furlongs, so we sent him back over hurdles and put a set of blinkers on and he’s turned a competitive field into a rout.

“I thought he might win but not in that fashion. He’s a horse who has always had loads of ability.

“We’ll train him as a staying hurdler now, he’s not over-big so jumping fences has probably been a big effort for him.

“We all want winners here. I huffed and puffed yesterday and didn’t get anywhere, so it’s great to get a winner today.”