The Lanzarote Hurdle card at Kempton Park was marred by the death of three horses, including the Grade One-winning Kalif Du Berlais, whose loss Paul Nicholls described as 'a big kick in the teeth'. Kalif Du Berlais, whose ownership group includes Sir Alex Ferguson, unseated Harry Cobden in the four-runner Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase and landed lame. A broken shoulder proved untreatable and the horse was euthanised on Saturday.
Nicholls said: 'It's a sad day when you lose horses like that, it's hard on the whole team. It's a big kick in the teeth for everyone, the owners, the poor girl who looks after him – you hate to see that happen. He was just showing his class today, he jumped and travelled well and sadly now he will never be able to show the potential we thought he had.'
In the Coral Daily Rewards Shaker Handicap Chase, Jonjo and AJ O’Neill’s Peso was pulled up with an untreatable injury and euthanised. Harry Derham’s Wertpol also died after falling at the last in the juvenile hurdle. Derham said on X: 'An utterly miserable day at Kempton Park today losing Wertpol … He was a bright talent … Racing can at times be a painful sport.'
A Kempton Park spokesperson said: 'All of us at Kempton Park care deeply about the welfare of all racehorses … Our heartfelt condolences are with the connections of all three horses.' The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) stated: 'At this stage there does not appear to be any common factor that can be attributed to these incidents … The BHA will also initiate its additional review process to assess all relevant factors.'
