Andrew Balding: Beat The Bank was just a magnificent racehorse

In his blog for Betway, Andrew Balding has paid tribute to his star stable, Beat The Bank, who was fatally injured after winning at Ascot on Saturday.

People often talk about the highs and lows of racing and Saturday really was one of those days.

We had the highs of Pass The Gin, Pivoine and Beat The Bank, but then the very lowest of lows with Beat The Bank suffering a fatal injury when crossing the line after he had won his second Summer Mile at Ascot.

It’s always very sad and tough when you lose a horse, but he did so much for us and was just a magnificent racehorse. To win five Group Twos is incredibly hard to do and even though he didn’t win a Group One, he couldn’t have gone much closer in the Queen Anne last month.

He was so tough, he never knew when he was beat and he showed all his bravery again on Saturday.

It’s heartbreaking for everyone at the yard as well as those involved with King Power Racing. He was such a popular horse, the chairman absolutely loved him and he was a big reason why he became so passionate about racing.

Kevin Hunt and Sandeep Gauravaram, who looked after him, will feel the pain as much as anyone, as will Josh Bryan who rode him out every morning.

It was tragic for him to go out like that, but he has given us so many great days and we will remember him forever.

I’d also like to thank everyone for all the kind messages, he clearly touched a lot of people and it shows how close-knit the racing community is.