The revelations in Monday’s
BBC documentary demand urgent action from horseracing authorities in
Britain and Ireland
In a 24-race career for Nicky Henderson between May 2014 and April 2019, Vyta Du Roc won seven races including the Grade Two Reynoldstown Chase at Ascot, two Grade Twos over hurdles and a handicap chase at Cheltenham’s New Year’s Day meeting in 2018. In all, he banked nearly £180,000 in prize money for his owners, Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.
As a result of Monday evening’s Panorama investigation “The Dark Side Of Horse Racing”, we now also know that a short time after his first start under Rules for Gordon Elliott, in a cross-country event at Punchestown, Vyta Du Roc’s life was ended by a slaughterman’s bullet, in an abattoir near Swindon – many hours away by truck and ferry from his last home.