Charlie Longsdon pays tribute to 'great servant' after death of Hammersly Lake

Charlie Longsdon has paid tribute to classy chaser Hammersly Lake who passed away in his stable early on Wednesday morning after suffering an aneurysm.

Over the course of 16 races for Longsdon and owner Robert Aplin, Hammersly Lake won four times, reaching a peak rating of 165 and twice travelling across the Atlantic to contest the American Grand National at Far Hills.

"He was a decent horse," Longsdon said on Wednesday. "It's terrible for any yard to lose any decent horse. It's been a pretty depressing day but what's happened is unfortunately part of racing."

After six races in France, Hammersly Lake joined Nicky Henderson in November 2012 where he made 17 starts for owner Michael Buckley and recorded three wins for the five-time champion jumps trainer before joining Longsdon's stable in June 2017.

The summer of 2018 proved one to remember for connections after the then ten-year-old won two valuable handicaps at Cartmel and Perth, netting over £40,000 in the process.

Longsdon added: "He's been a great fun horse after we bought him relatively cheaply a couple of years ago. He's taken us to America twice, won four races offering really good prize-money and was one of the highest rated horses to run through the summer.

"He's been a great servant to us and it's come as a massive shock to everyone here – very much out of the blue."

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