Three surviving horses in vehicle fire unharmed following tragic incident

Three horses involved in Thursday night’s horsebox fire which tragically claimed seven equine lives have come through the terrible road accident unharmed.

The trio were among ten horses purchased at Tattersalls last week who were en route to Spain when a blaze broke out in the transporter in which they were travelling.

The fire started after a mechanical failure of a front wheel caused a tyre to ignite, before strong winds caused the blaze to spread to the rear of the truck.

It has now emerged that French police were joined by 14 firefighters at the scene on the A28 motorway between Blangy-sur-Bresle and Neufchatel-en-Bray in the Normandy region.

The emergency services arrived around 8pm local time after the driver had attempted to put out the fire with the vehicle's emergency extinguisher. He was able to get four of the horses out of the box. The other six were unable to be rescued.

Of the four that were initially saved, one of them subsequently died having suffered burns.

The three survivors, who are believed to be Mexico City, formerly trained by Aidan O'Brien, the former John Gosden-trained maiden Haajoos, and Alpin King, who was previously with Charlie Hills and also a maiden, are reported to be completely healthy and free from injury.

The truck driver suffered minor injuries but did not need to be hospitalised, while the road remained closed for around five hours following the incident.

Among the seven horses who lost their lives in the tragedy was three-time winner Wise Counsel, a half-brother to former Spanish poster boy Noozhoh Canarias, who was runner-up in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

Also understood to be among the fatalities were Daayeb, formerly with Kevin Prendergast, Hawaamesh, who had been with Dermot Weld but had yet to run, and Just Awesome, also previously trained in Ireland, in his case by Aidan Fogarty.

Jon Jauregui, the owner of the truck that transported the horses, is reported to have informed last week’s buyers that he plans to refund their purchase price before making an insurance claim.

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Seven horses bought at Tattersalls lose their lives in tragic road accident