Shishkin, one of the best staying chasers in the country, has been put down after fracturing a hind leg in an accident in his box on Sunday afternoon.
After a torrid last third of the season, trainer Nicky Henderson might reasonably have thought his luck had changed when Jonbon and Fantastic Lady both won at Sandown on Saturday.
However, the 10-year-old Shishkin, who was due to leave early on Monday for Ireland where he was meant to clash with dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs for the first time in the Punchestown Gold Cup on Wednesday, was found to have fractured his femur high up while cast in his stable on Sunday afternoon.
Henderson, who has four others to run at Punchestown, said: “He was a great character. He won six Grade Ones and between the Supreme and the Arkle he was almost unbeatable. The match between him and Energumene at Ascot was his finest moment. He was sure to be beaten two out and we knew then we’d spent too long at two miles. That was sheer guts which got him home, he knew how to fight.”
He added: “His crowning day was set to be the King George. We all thought he’d win but he always had a trick up his sleeve and to trip himself up with his own foot was very Shishkin. He had a few foibles, he refused to start once and was always tricky at the start of a season at home.
“Last season he spent a month with Zara Tindall doing dressage, which was a month well spent. He loved it. We’re going to Punchestown but it won’t be the same without our flagship.”
Shishkin won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2020 and the Arkle Novices’ Chase the following year.
Horses become ‘cast’ when they roll within the confines of four walls of their stable, get stuck with their legs tucked up against the wall and then struggle to get up. In a yard as big as Henderson’s, it might happen once or twice a month but normally they can be turned back over without injury by staff or get themselves up.
Most horses tend to get down for a roll just after exercise when they have been sweaty and they have a nice bed of fresh shavings or straw to roll in. Their beds are banked up against the foot of the walls to help stop them getting wedged and, at that time of day, there are usually a lot of staff about but, obviously, that is not the case at night or during the early afternoons when they have their downtime.
“Sometimes you know a horse has been cast in his box at night, when they have been unattended for 11 hours, because there are scrapes on the walls or a horse has a bruise or cut,” explained Henderson. “But it is usually no more than a small niggle at worst.”
Fatalities are very rare although the Group One-winning sprinter Highfield Princess sustained a similar injury during the winter and could not be saved.
