Sir Gino ruled out for the season

Nicky Henderson reported that Sir Gino endured a “comfortable” night in hospital and there is “every chance” his superstar can recover from the fractured pelvis he sustained at Cheltenham on Saturday.
The six-year-old was pulled up by Nico de Boinville in the Grade 2 Unibet Hurdle, which was won by The New Lion, on Trials day, and was immediately attended to by on-course vets after he stopped abruptly following the third-last flight.
Sir Gino spent the night at Three Counties Equine Hospital in Tewkesbury, where he was taken for scans and x-rays immediately after being walked into the horse ambulance, and Henderson provided an update on his situation on Sunday morning.
Speaking to the Racing Post, he said: “George Daly [assistant] has just been to see him and has sent me a photograph of him. He’s had a comfortable night, although there was a bit when he wasn’t. There are two fractured lines, but he’s comfortable and he’ll stay there for a few days until he’s able to move, and then he’ll come back to Lambourn.
“There’s every chance he could make a good recovery, but the poor boy spent most of last year in hospital, and he’s going to spend most of it there this year as well. He wants to be at home, and everyone is doing everything they possibly can.”
Henderson confirmed that Sir Gino would not run again this season and that it could be a while before his future becomes clear.
He said: “He won’t race again this season. I think it’ll be many months before we know whatever the future holds for him, but horses do mend from this. It’s a long one, though. Pelvic injuries are, unfortunately, not a rarity, but how and what he did nobody will ever know. We’ve just got to hope and pray.
“They didn’t unload him on the racecourse because they wanted to get him straight to the hospital. He’s done very well and, so far, everyone is happy with how he’s coping with it. He’s in safe hands, but the sooner we can get him home, the better.”
It is the second consecutive year Sir Gino’s season has been cut short. The Joe and Marie Donnelly-owned six-year-old suffered an infection in the ligaments in his near hind leg last year, which ruled him out of the Cheltenham Festival and the remainder of the campaign.
He returned from a long layoff at Kempton on Boxing Day when running out an impressive six-length winner of the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle and he was expected to be one of the main players in this year’s Unibet Champion Hurdle.
The seven-time winner will miss the festival for a third year, having been withdrawn from the 2024 meeting due to the poor health of Henderson’s string, but the Lambourn trainer pointed out that Sir Gino had recovered from previous setbacks.
He said: “He spent six weeks of last season in hospital and he came out of it remarkably well. This is the opposite hind leg to the problem we had last year, and it’s completely unrelated.
“He’s a poor boy and he doesn’t deserve it – neither do the Donnellys or anyone else for that matter. Everyone’s pretty shook up, but everyone has been wonderful with their messages of support.”