Punters devastated as ‘hero’ horse and Cheltenham Festival regular dies from cancer aged nine

We are very sad to report that Kileatly Briggs passed away last week from cancer. He was a brilliant racehorse for us with such a kind temperament and he will be greatly missed. We want to thank the whole team @jamiesnowden who looked after him so well throughout his career
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— The McNeill Family. (@McNeill_Family) July 3, 2023

His best finish was a highly respectable ninth in the Grade 3 Paddy Power Plate in 2021 having been sent off 40-1.

Trained by Jamie Snowden and owned by the McNeill family, the popular chaser won just shy of £100,000 in his career.

A post from the owner’s Twitter account read on Monday morning: “We are very sad to report that Kileatly Briggs passed away last week from cancer.

“He was a brilliant racehorse for us with such a kind temperament and he will be greatly missed.

“We want to thank the whole team @jamiesnowden who looked after him so well throughout his career.”

Having reached a career-high mark of 143 over fences, Kiltealy Briggs never reached the top level of chasing but gave his backers plenty to cheer.

Partnered by Adrian Heskin, his final win was a valuable £27,000 jackpot in a Class 2 at Market Rasen last October.

Kiltealy Briggs’ final ever run came last April on Grand National weekend, when he finished 14th in the mega-money Topham Chase.

The horse won five times from his 22 career races and was still relatively lightly raced at the time of his death.

Punters paid tribute to the horse on social media.

In response to the tweet announcing his death, one fan wrote: “That’s so very sad. Condolences to you all.”

Another said: “Awful news, I’m so sorry.”

One message read: “Very sad and terrible way to have to say goodbye to a beautiful equine. My condolences.”

And another said: “So sorry to hear this. Loved him, an unsung, honest hero of a horse. Condolences to all.”

The news came a day after Aidan O’Brien’s San Antonio sadly suffered a fatal injury in the Irish Derby.

Jockey Wayne Lordan was rushed to hospital following the awful fall, which cast a shadow over Auguste Rodin’s win.