Grand National jockey Micheal Nolan has broken his silence after the death of horse Celebre D’Allen, saying he is ‘heartbroken’ and has been misunderstood.
Nolan was given a 10-day ban and roundly criticised after riding the 13-year-old gelding over the last fence – despite him having ‘no more to give’.
Celebre D’Allen, a 125/1 outsider trained by Philip Hobbs and Johnson White, weakened in the late stages and collapsed after the last fence, requiring veterinary attention.
Despite appearing to make an improvement on Sunday, Celebre D’Allen died on Monday night, which prompted widespread anguish and outrage. After a torrent of social media abuse, Nolan deleted his social media accounts.
Nolan told the Racing Post: ‘It’s been portrayed that I don’t care about horses. That’s what the media are saying but in fact it’s the other way round. I’m obsessed with horses; I love them and I care deeply. I was absolutely heartbroken when the horse died, more than anyone can imagine.
‘You never want any horse to have anything happen to them but he was such a gentle and kind horse. It always makes it sadder when it happens to a horse who is loved by everybody.
Micheal Nolan says he is ‘heartbroken’ by the death of Celebre D’Allen after the Grand National
Celebre D’Allen (pictured in 2024) died after Nolan rode him over the last fence with ‘no more to give,’ prompting lots of backlash
Nolan says he ‘couldn’t tell’ the situation was that bad and that it changed rapidly
‘Ten strides before the second-last fence I thought I might win the Grand National and then two strides after the last I knew something had gone wrong.
‘That’s how quick I went from travelling so easy and you can almost see the winning post from where you are, to getting off him and trying your best to help him; to coming in and getting a ban and then abuse on social media.
‘The only thing I want people to know is that I’m more upset than anybody that something has happened and that if I’d thought for a moment that I might cost him his life or cause him a bad injury, then I would never have jumped the last.
‘They came past me quicker than I’d have wanted after the second-last and the reason I sat up on him was to let him canter on and to assess if he had enough energy and momentum to jump the last.
‘I wouldn’t have wanted him to get a fall and he popped it fine. It was just the stride immediately after the last when I was trying to get away from it, I could tell he couldn’t give me any more.’
Nolan was handed a 10-day ban after the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) confirmed that Nolan had breached riding rules by continuing on a horse that was clearly struggling.
The horse racing authority later confirmed that Celebre D’Allen died on Monday evening.
‘We’re heartbroken to share that Celebre D’Allen has passed away. He received the very best treatment by the veterinary teams and was improving,’ said Philip Hobbs and Johnson White Racing, the horse’s trainer, in a statement on Tuesday morning.
Celebre D’Allen (2nd right) died aged 13 on Monday night, two days after collapsing at Aintree
Nolan (right) was hit with the 10-day ban after the horse had ‘no more to give’ before collapsing
‘However, he deteriorated significantly last night and could not be saved. He was a wonderful horse and we will all miss him greatly.’
Celebre D’Allen had started well in the Grand National before but appeared to be in difficulty after the second-last fence. Nolan continued to ride before finally pulling up after jumping the last.
The gelding was later able to walk into a horse ambulance and was taken for further assessment.
The Sun and ITV’s Matt Chapman revealed on Saturday evening that Celebre D’Allen had suffered heatstroke and would remain at Aintree overnight for monitoring.
And on Sunday there was a bright outlook on Celebre D’Allen’s condition with the gelding looking in fine fettle on social media.
Taking to X, Hobbs and White’s joint-account shared a video of the horse along with the caption: ‘Celebre D’Allen bright and breezy this morning @AintreeRaces after running so well in the Grand National.”
Celebre D’Allen was the oldest horse in the field at 13, and the handling of him as subsequently seen Nolan given a 10-day ban from racecourse stewards.
Race horses usually live until 10 years of age, according to Newbury race course’s official website.
Nolan deleted his social media accounts after suffering a torrent of abuse on social media
The jockey deleted both his X and Facebook accounts in the wake of the abuse
Their full statement on the incident read: ‘An enquiry was held to consider whether Micheal Nolan, the rider of CELEBRE D’ALLEN (FR), had continued in the race when the horse appeared to have no more to give and was clearly losing ground after the second-last fence.
‘The rider and the Veterinary Officer were interviewed, and recordings of the incident were viewed. The rider was suspended for 10 days.’
In a statement following Celebre D’Allen’s death, the BHA’s acting chief executive Brant Dunshea wrote: ‘All of us at the BHA are saddened to learn of the death of Celebre D’Allen following Saturday’s Randox Grand National.
‘We’re heartbroken to share that Celebre D’Allen has passed away. He received the very best treatment by the veterinary teams and was improving,’ said Philip Hobbs and Johnson White Racing in a statement on Tuesday morning.
‘However, he deteriorated significantly last night and could not be saved. He was a wonderful horse and we will all miss him greatly.
‘It has been clear to see since Saturday afternoon just how much the horse meant to his connections and we send our condolences to them today.
‘As with all runners in the Grand National, Celebre D’Allen was provided with a thorough check by vets at the racecourse. This health check includes a trot up, physical examination of limbs to check for any heat, pain or swelling, and listening to the heart to check for any murmur or rhythm disturbance.
‘This marks the final step in an extensive process of checks to ensure a horses’ suitability to race in the National, which also includes a review of veterinary records and assessment by a Panel of experts to consider a horse’s race record and suitability to race. As part of this process the horse would also have been examined by the trainer’s own vet on the two occasions, a month apart.
Nolan suffered online abuse after the horse’s death from fans and animal rights groups
‘Celebre D’Allen received treatment from the team of expert vets after pulling up and then collapsing towards the end of the race.
‘Having been immediately attended to by the teams on site, he was given all the time he needed to respond to treatment on course before being transported back to the first-class veterinary facilities at the racecourse stables, where he remained overnight, continuing to receive care and attention.
‘He subsequently travelled to a nearby stud which was connected to the horse’s owners on Sunday, having shown improvement overnight.
‘The BHA and Aintree racecourse will analyse the race and this incident in detail, as is the case every year and with every fatal injury in any race. This will include the horse being sent for post-mortem.
‘The process of reviewing every fatality allows us to build on our existing data and help us understand how all reasonable avoidable risk can be reduced in order to keep our horses and riders as safe as possible.
‘This process previously led to the changes that were made to the Grand National in 2024, including the reduction in the number of runners. Prior to Saturday’s race there had been no fatal injuries in the previous nine races run over the Grand National course since the 2023 National.’
However, animal rights group Animal Aid have hit out at the ‘absolutely abhorrent’ situation which led to Celebre D’Allen’s death aged 13 on Monday evening, branding it ‘criminal’.
‘It is absolutely abhorrent that after racing until he had ‘no more to give’ in the Grand National, Celebre D’Allen has died,’ Animal Aid’s director Iain Green wrote in a statement.
Celebre D’Allen had looked in a brighter mood on Sunday after receiving veterinary attention
The 13-year-old gelding (pictured in 2023) started well at the Grand National but was clearly struggling towards the end, however jockey Nolan only pulled up after the final fence
‘The jockey riding him to the point of collapse received a pitiful 10-day suspension.
‘To allow a horse of this age to race in the most punishing and notoriously dangerous race on record is nothing short of criminal, and the responsibility for this falls with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).
‘Horse running for their lives is not sport, it is blatant and disturbing animal abuse.’
