It is very sad news. My condolences to his connections, who have really had some rotten luck over the last few years.
Sir Gino was unbeaten in completed starts. He would have hacked up in the Triumph if the Henderson stable had not been under such a cloud. He would have won the Arkle the following year but illness intervened.
Would he have won the Champion Hurdle this year? Would Lossiemouth have run in the race if he had been in it?
I suppose his sad fate is to be one of those tantalising “what if” horses. We know he was very good – but did we ever find out quite how good he was?
It is such a tragedy because he was still so young.