CHELTENHAM Festival legend and hugely controversial horse Langer Dan has been retired with immediate effect – just days before he was due to run at the Grand National Festival.
Trainer Dan Skelton confirmed the two-time Coral Cup king will never run again after picking up an ‘unexplainable heart problem’.
Jockey Harry Skelton celebrates landing his first of two Coral Cups on Langer Dan – the superstar horse has been retired with immediate effect just days before running at the Grand National FestivalSportsfile
Skelton often came under fire from punters for insisting the nine-year-old gelding only came right in the spring.
Langer Dan’s form nosedived during the winter months but he was a different horse when the sun was shining – and when his handicap mark had dropped.
He won back-to-back Coral Cups at Cheltenham, with the final one coming in 2024.
Langer Dan then proved himself almost Grade 1 class when going down by a short head third in the Aintree Hurdle the following month.
The Colm Donlon-owned horse was entered in Thursday’s Aintree Hurdle again.
But punters were left gutted after the ‘end of an era’ in racing was confirmed with his retirement.
Skelton wrote on X: “Langer Dan – it’s with much sadness ahead of Aintree we wanted to let everyone know that we have retired Langer Dan from racing with immediate effect.
“This is due to an intrinsic and unexplainable heart problem.
“Thank you for the wonderful days you gave us and you’ll be missed.”
One punter said in reply to Skelton’s statement: “Ah well, racing Twitter is going to have find something else to talk about from October to the Festival!
“It’s gutting he has a heart problem, but better to find out now than on the racecourse.
!I hope he has a long and wonderful retirement.”
And another posted: “Legend, incredible story that horse has to tell.”
While one joked: “This is the boldest move yet in the game of cat and mouse with the handicapper.”
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