Champion Hurdle News: Go Native suffers fatal injury

Caption: Noel Meade watches Go Native at Cheltenham

Noel Meade and his team were left "devastated" after Go Native suffered a fatal injury when breaking a leg on the gallops on Friday morning...

The nine-year-old was three times a Grade 1 winner and had made an encouraging start this season returning from a lengthy absence.

Trainer Noel Meade said: "We're all in a state of shock at the moment. He was just doing a very steady canter. I was stood about 100 yards away from him and all of a sudden I heard this almighty crack and he'd somehow broken his leg above the hock."

Owned by the Docado syndicate, Go Native returned from an absence of 939 days to be third on the Flat at Navan in October and went a couple of places better subsequently at Galway.

He went back over hurdles in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown last weekend only to fall at the final flight when throwing down a challenge to the eventual winner, Hurricane Fly.

Referring to the Morgiana, Meade said: "You have to question whether he did something in the fall, but although he's not done any fast work, he's been hacking all week and has seemed fine.

Go Native had won nine races from 18 starts under Rules, including the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton and the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle three years ago. But his finest hour came a season earlier when he claimed the Supreme Novices' Hurdle by a neck at the 2009 Cheltenham Festival.

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