Big Shu© Photo Healy Racing
There was a sad postscript to the Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase at Cheltenham as former Festival winner Big Shu was a fatality.
Trained in County Kildare by Peter Maher, the nine-year-old won the big cross country race at the track in March of last year and followed up in the La Touche Cup at Punchestown.
Third behind Balthazar King at this year's Cheltenham Festival, he fell when well fancied in the Grand National at Aintree.
Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse said: "I can't confirm it was a heart attack but, in all likelihood, it was a circulation problem, rather than a problem with a limb." Any Currency (8-1), another regular over the fences, came home in front to earn a deserved first visit to the Cheltenham winner's enclosure and complete a double on the afternoon for local trainer Martin Keighley.
The 11-year-old, runner-up at the Festival last season, began to assert four fences from the finish under Aidan Coleman and was too strong up the hill for the patiently-ridden Quantitativeeasing scoring by 12 lengths.
The Willie Mullins-trained Uncle Junior showed little interest from flag-fall, while the favourite, Duke Of Lucca fell at the halfway stage.
