Guitar Pete Cheltenham triumph marred by tragic loss of Starchitect
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
Watch a full replay of the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup won by Guitar Pete (pictured) at Cheltenham on Saturday, interviews with Lydia Hislop and rad our report.
By Geoffrey Riddle at Cheltenham
Light always comes from darkness and what was supposed to be Ryan Day’s breakthrough career success at Cheltenham on Saturday was tinged with tragedy after Guitar Pete profited from Starchitect’s fatal injury in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup Handicap Chase.
Cheltenham is a track where racegoers expect to come to celebrate but there was no doubting the emotion that the 15,000 here experienced after Starchitecht came to grief with the grandstand in sight and the feature handicap of the afternoon in his grasp.
Starchitect had slipped the field under Tom Scudamore three fences from home in the £120,000 contest and was seven lengths clear before the nine-year-old shattered his hind leg before the penultimate fence.
It left the path open for Nicky Richard's Guitar Pete and Day to stay on to deny 3-1 favourite Clan Des Obeaux and Harry Cobden.
No matter how many times a horseman suffers these gut-wrenching losses it never becomes any easier. Ditto for the Cheltenham faithful, who in the past 13 months have witnessed the sorrowful departure from this stage of Grand National winner Many Clouds and brilliant grey Simonsig.
Scudamore was visibly distressed by Starchitect’s death, but maintained that nothing could have been done to prevent the misfortune.
"He was going well coming off the bend but he has just gone wrong turning in,” he said.
"There was no signs of anything. He never felt better and it probably looked that way.
"I've not seen a replay of it and I'm not going to. It is very sad for everyone.
"I just feel sad for the horse as he has been knocking on the door so many times and today, possibly, was going to be his day and it wasn't to be.
"I don't know why it has happened. You couldn't blame anybody."
David Pipe, Starchitecht’s trainer, also put on the bravest of faces.
"No horse deserves that and Starchitect definitely didn't deserve it,” he said.
"He was a real tough customer and always tried his heart out. This was going to be his day today.
"Paul and Clare Rooney (owners) weren't here today and our thoughts are with them.
"He just broke a hind leg. It is just a freak accident but they happen.
"These things can happen out in a field on the racecourse. They can happen anywhere.
"We hope they never do but they do from time to time."
For Day, it was only his second ride at Prestbury Park after he and Guitar Pete had almost fell at the first before finishing ninth to Splash Of Ginge in the BetVictor Gold Cup here last month.
Day has been with Richards at his Greystoke base in Cumbria for two seasons and it was his tenth winner of the campaign. It left him six off his best total, having ridden for just four seasons in total.
To have the winner of the Grade Three Chase on a busy Saturday is every young conditional jockey’s dream. Victory embroidered with a fatality is always a nightmare but Day handled the muted aftermath with a gravitas that belied his 23 years and his limited experience in the limelight.
“I could see Tom Scu was getting away a little bit, and I thought I was riding for a place. I am sorry to Mr and Mrs Rooney,” Day said.
“It is an unfortunate part of the game and it is not nice when it does happen. I’ve won, and that is the only bonus to come of it, but if that was me you wouldn’t be very pleased.”
Richards was not at Cheltenham as he was overseeing Takingrisks’s second-placed finish to Markov at Doncaster. He, too, offered his condolences to Starchitecht’s connections.
"It's awful what happened to the other horse (Starchitect) and my heart goes out to Mr and Mrs Rooney,” he said from Town Moor.
"Nobody likes to see that and our thoughts are with them.
"It's great to win. Everybody knows Cheltenham is the place to win, but it's very hard to get winners there.
"Our horse was badly hampered at the first fence last time and was basically taken out of the race.
"We knew he was well then and he's been freshened up since and was bouncing at home, so we were hopeful he'd run a big race.
"I can't remember when my last winner at Cheltenham was. I remember The French Furze winning there for us with Brian Harding riding him (in 2006).
"We've had a few winners there and a lot of horses run well, but it is a very hard place to get winners."
On future plans, Richards said: "We'll get him home and see how he is.
"We'll have a look at the programme book and see what we can find. If he wants a little break until the spring we'll do that."
The stewards ordered the relevant area of the track to be examined and they were satisfied there was no problem with the ground.
Sainte Ladylime, owned by the Rooneys, was withdrawn from the final race at Cheltenham.
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