The very sad news broke on Tuesday afternoon that Sir Gino has passed away at the age of six.
Nicky Henderson announced the news on his X account with a five-paragraph statement. The master of Seven Barrows said: “We have very sadly lost the battle to overcome Sir Gino’s ailment and he has had to be put to sleep at the veterinary hospital this morning.
“He has been fighting from severe deep-seated infections that he had overcome last year prior to his brilliant return in the Christmas Hurdle but this time it had spread too far although his fractured pelvis was healing well.”
Sir Gino was unbeaten in seven completed starts in his curtailed career. He had been favourite for this season’s Champion Hurdle before being ruled out with a pelvic injury sustained in the Unibet Hurdle on Trials Day at Cheltenham.
Henderson statement pays tribute to “unforgettable” Sir Gino
Sir Gino’s racing career is a classic case of what might have been. Yet, even on the fleeting occasions we did get to glimpse him, the talent was undeniable.
There is a chance Sir Gino will go down as the best jumps horse of all time to never race at the Cheltenham Festival. In his juvenile season, he was a Grade 1 winner at Aintree having missed the Triumph Hurdle. He had comfortably disposed of Burdett Road on Trials Day.
The following season, 2024/25, he raced just twice, yet it included perhaps his most dazzling displays. Firstly, he claimed the Fighting Fifth Hurdle to easily graduate into open company. Then, in a four-runner edition of the Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase, he disposed of Ballyburn with disdain in a devastating display.
After a full year of waiting, the racing public got to see him again when he breezed to glory in Kempton’s Christmas Hurdle. His pelvic injury was then sustained at Cheltenham, but he deserves to be remembered as that unbeaten, unbelievable horse we saw prior.
Henderson has trained some of the greats of the modern game. And yet, he paid tribute to Sir Gino as the equal of them all.
“He was not only brilliant but one of the nicest kindest horses you could ever wish to see and this leaves an awful hole in Seven Barrows this morning and a very sad day for Joe & Marie Donnelly. They have had some wonderful horses over the years and they both care so much for them so losing such a young star with his life in front of him is particularly cruel.
“Sir Gino was unbeaten in all his 7 starts including 3 Grade 1’s over hurdles and an amazing display in a Grade 2 Chase on his one and only start over fences.
“We would have to say that he was just at least as good as any of all the amazing horses we have been lucky enough to have trained. Unforgettable in every way.”