Sir Gino able to walk onto horse ambulance after being pulled up at Cheltenham

Nicky Henderson’s Sir Gino was able to walk into the horse ambulance having been forced to pull up just after halfway in the Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The six-year-old was the odds-on favourite in the Grade Two event and had been the ante-post market leader for the Champion Hurdle.

He had returned to action in the Christmas Hurdle after a year off the track enforced by a nasty infection in his leg which at one point had threatened his career.

However, he showed his engine was still intact there when beating the current champion Golden Ace with plenty to spare.

Henderson said: “They were able to put him into the ambulance, it’s his right-hind, it appears to be high up so there’s no lower limb fractures – it would appear to be a pelvic injury at the moment.

“He has loaded and I’d rather they take him to Three Counties veterinary hospital without unloading here and then they can assess and scan and just see where we are. Everybody is fighting.

“Pelvic injuries can be little or big, so we’ve just got to keep everything crossed.

“We won’t know anymore tonight. They need a chance to assess him so it will be late on I expect.”

He added: “I’ve been lucky enough to have many good horses but I haven’t had many like him, I can tell you that.”

A statement issued by the Jockey Club read: “In our sixth race of the day, Sir Gino was quickly pulled up and was dismounted.

“He was immediately attended to by our expert veterinary team where he was assessed on course.

“Sir Gino has walked onto the horse ambulance to go back to the stables for further assessment.”