I just wanted to express my gratitude to Cheltenham racecourse for taking action in making their hurdles safer. As a result of the injuries/deaths in the Fred Winter juvenile hdl, they will now be using hurdles without extending uprights. I am not entirely sure about the other horses that sadly met their demise but I do know that Gardasee’s injury was a direct result of an upright at the last. You can clearly see him on the video jump the last cleanly, but sadly over an extending upright and then see it produce a nasty gash in his leg with skin flapping  as he runs to the winning post.
He has been under constant veterinary supervision since, including 2 operations, but gladly he seems to finally be on the mend. I have attached two pics….not for the faint hearted, but it does show the kind of damage a simple upright will make, and it delights me that Cheltenham have consented to take this action.
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7-6-06 pre 2nd op
27/7/06 post op