Cheltenham Festival horse Highland Hunter dies after nasty fall on day one | Racing | Sport

What’s more, just this morning, footage was shared on social media of Highland Hunter enjoying a run around, as he geared up for the day’s action. The now poignant video, captioned ‘We run old boy Highland Hunter in the Ultima this afternoon, he won’t mind the rain at all,’ showed the horse enjoying an early-morning stretch ahead of what unfortunately proved to be his last outing.

The Ultima Handicap was eventually won by Chianti Clasico under jockey David Bass, who overcame a slight wobble after the final hurdle to take home the victory ahead of Twig under Beau Morgan. But this race will also be remembered for the sad loss of Highland Hunter, whose tragic fall led to the first death at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival.