Trainer Dan Skelton broke the news on Friday that the two-time Coral Cup winner had passed away
Langer Dan: had missed last year’s Cheltenham Festival due to a respiratory issue(Image: PA)
One of the Cheltenham Festival’s most popular stalwarts has died suddenly. Langer Dan, trained by Dan Skelton, was the ultimate target horse, earning a huge following because he regularly saved his best for Cheltenham in March.
He won two editions of the Coral Cup off the back of a sequence of poor results and had continued the trend ahead of his bid for a hat-trick of Festival wins in the Stayers’ Hurdle last year. However, he was declared a late non-runner on the day of race having developed what Skelton described as ‘an unexplainable heart problem’. It was the first time he had missed the Festival in six years.
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The trainer had hoped Langer Dan could recover in time to contest the Aintree Hurdle last April, in which Langer Dan previously finished third in a three-way photo-finish.
But an announcement from the Instagram account linked to owner Colm Donlon, Squeaky Racing, revealed that Langer Dan would not race again.
The post said: “With heavy hearts and ahead of Aintree, we wanted to let everyone know that what presented as a minor respiratory issue at the time of the Cheltenham Festival has transpired to be an intrinsic and unexplainable heart problem; therefore Langer Dan has been retired with immediate effect.”
Harry Skelton riding Langer Dan celebrates victory in the Coral Cup Hurdle(Image: Getty Images)
Langer Dan won six of his 27 races and earned £281,000 in prize-money. Since retiring the , ten-year-old had been looked after by his groom Amber Blythe.
Skelton broke the sad news in a post on X when he said: “We’re saddened to say we lost Langer Dan suddenly yesterday to the heart condition he was diagnosed with in February last year. He enjoyed a wonderful, well-deserved retirement and was thoroughly spoilt by Amber Blythe, who rode him during his time in training.”
Among numerous responses, one fan said: “So sorry to hear this Dan but at least he had a retirement, albeit short, with his devoted lass. Rest easy boy.”
Another said: “RIP langer dan, probably the greatest coup to win 2 coral cups in a row.”