Trainer Jessica Harrington has announced the death of Irish Grand National winner Our Duke, the Racing Post report.
Harrington took to Twitter to let the world know that the eight-year-old had died of a heart attack after exercising earlier in the day.
Twitter: We are sad to announce Our Duke died this morning following his usual morning exercise. He suffered a massive heart… https://t.co/d2eHCGtwhu (@Jessica_Racing)
Our Duke last competed in competitive racing in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and was pulled up behind Native River, showing no real fluency in the race.
However, Our Duke did win the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse last April and picked up a Grade 1 novice chase winner at Leopardstown in December 2016, two of his career highlights.
The eight-year-old won six of his 13 races, earning nearly £350,000 in the process, and was being readied for the Punchestown festival.
Talking about Our Duke, Harrington said:
It’s very sad. He was a wonderful horse and winning the Irish Grand National last year was a dream come true for me as I’d never won the race. He won by 14 lengths and it was a fantastic performance.
