'Absolute gent' Bleu Et Rouge mourned after tragic end in Fighting Fifth

Past and present trainers Willie Mullins and Ben Haslam were united in sorrow at the loss of Bleu Et Rouge, whose death on Saturday marred a fine day for owner JP McManus.

The former Grade 1 winner suffered a fatal shoulder injury when falling at the fourth-last flight in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, won by another McManus-owned star in Buveur D'Air.

He was having his first outing for Haslam and was also the Middleham trainer's first runner in a Grade 1 event when coming to grief at Newcastle.

"It was a real blow," Haslam said on Sunday. "He was an absolute gent of a horse, we hadn't had him that long but my wife Alice rode him every day, she really got on with him and was absolutely devastated.

"I'm just as sorry for the lads at Willie Mullins' who will have known him for longer and will be upset. It obviously marred a very good day for JP McManus."

Bleu Et Rouge, who won the Grade 1 Deloitte Novice Hurdle and was second in the Betfair Hurdle when with Mullins, was still in contention under Will Kennedy when he came down in the Fighting Fifth.

"He travelled beautifully through the race, everything was going well and Will thought he still had plenty of running left in him," Haslam said.

"When they started to race into the flight he was on a long stride and was a little bit brave and clipped the top. He sprawled on landing and unfortunately that's what did the injury to his shoulder.

"It's a real shame. He's a horse who'd had a few little issues in the past but he'd been moving brilliantly before the race."

Bleu Et Rouge: won over hurdles and fences when with Willie MullinsCredit: Patrick McCann

Mullins also paid tribute to the seven-year-old and said: "It was sad to see what happened to him. When we had him we thought he was a very good horse and even though he won a Grade 1 over hurdles for us he never really maximised his potential or showed the huge ability he displayed at home."

Bleu Et Rouge won two hurdles and a chase in his career and earned just over £100,000 in prize money.

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