TRAGEDY struck at Cheltenham as two horses, including the winner, suffered suspected heart attacks and passed away in the same race.

Abuffalosoldier produced a magnificent round of jumping on his way to victory under Sean Bowen in the Holland Cooper Handicap Chase – but he very sadly collapsed after the race.

And Ben Pauling’s Bangersandcash also collapsed during the race and was later confirmed to have died from a ‘cardiac failure’.

The winning jockey Bowen was still on Abuffalosoldier’s back and had just concluded an interview live on ITV when the Warren Greatrex-trained runner went down.

The chances of two horses suffering fatal cardiac events in the same race are incredibly remote, and the news of the two deaths left the big crowd at Cheltenham deflated and sombre.

Both horses were attended to immediately by on-course vets, but neither were able to be saved.

A statement from Cheltenham racecourse read: “The winner of our fourth race, Abuffalosoldier, collapsed after the line and was immediately attended by expert veterinary professionals, but sadly could not be saved. Our heartfelt condolences are with his connections.

“Bangersandcash was immediately attended to by our expert veterinary team but sadly sustained a fatal injury. Our heartfelt condolences are with his connections.”

Chief vet on course at Cheltenham Liam Kearns said: “(Abuffalosoldier) jumped everything fantastically well, he was full of running up to the finish but he collapsed shortly after the last and sadly died very quickly.

“This was a cardiovascular collapse, it could be a heart attack it could be a major artery, we won’t know until the post mortem is done.

“In the welfare situation, all these horses are thoroughly checked over at home, they won’t come to the races if their connections aren’t happy with them.

“They are checked on arrival at the races, the vets team check them over when they get here. There are vets dotted around the course keeping an eye on them.

“But in a highly athletic activity like this there is an unfortunate risk of this happening and we will try to mitigate it, but we cannot remove all risk.”

The British Horseracing Authority said in a statement: “The losses of Abuffalosoldier, Bangers And Cash and Napper Tandy at Cheltenham today are a tragedy for all connections and the thoughts of all of us at the BHA are with them.

“All three were provided with outstanding care and attention throughout their lives by those who cared for them and nobody will be more heartbroken tonight than those individuals.

“As with all fatalities, we will seek to understand the circumstances behind each incident as we strive to continue to reduce avoidable risk in our sport.

“All factual data relating to fatal injury rates in British racing can be found at www.horsepwr.co.uk and the overall fatal injury rate in Jump racing is 0.42% of runners.”

Racing fans expressed their sadness on social media, with one saying: “Thoughts with all connections of these brave boys. Very very sad”

Another said: “Truly devastating news, everyones thoughts here are with all the connections.

While another posted: “Horrifically sad for all involved. Such a fantastic race the winner ran. This is heartbreaking.”

And the day took another dreadful turn when the Matthew Smith-trained Knapper Tandy suffered a fatal fall in the Greatwood Hurdle.