Broadway Boy, who suffered a heavy fall while leading the Grand National on Saturday, is “stiff and sore” but “travelling home”, his connections have announced.
In a significant sigh of relief for the sport, vets at Aintree have given the seven-year-old the green light to make the journey back to Grange Hill Farm in Gloucestershire. There had been high anxiety after millions of viewers winced as the Nigel Twison-Davies-trained runner crashed out at the 25th fence while leading the race.
Vets and staff rushed to the scene and following close attention overnight, he was being driven south on Sunday via horse ambulance to continue his recovery. Sam Twiston-Davies, who rode the stable’s other runner in the race, Beauport, and is a son of trainer Nigel, wrote on X that Broadway Boy was “stiff and sore but all being well travelling home this morning”.
Willy Twiston-Davies, another of Nigel’s sons and an assistant in the yard, added: “Thank you for all the lovely messages, and more importantly thanks to all the vets at Aintree. Broadway Boy is getting loaded onto the horse ambulance and coming home. Such a special horse to all of us at Grange Hill Farm.”
— Willy Twiston-davies (@willy_twiston) April 6, 2025
Viewers immediately expressed horror at the fall on Saturday, with animal rights activists seizing on the incident to criticise ITV for failing to give it enough coverage. Broadway Boy was one of two runners who required immediate medical attention despite a host of welfare-led improvements at the course in recent years. Celebre D’Allen, who was pulled up on the run-in, also managed to walk onto a horse ambulance to return to the stables.
Concern had also been raised for Broadway Boy’s jockey Tom Bellamy, but after extensive attention on site, officials later confirmed Bellamy had “been taken to Aintree University Hospital for further assessment”. It later transpired that he suffered a broken wrist in the fall.
Safety measures to limit equine fatality and injury have never been greater at Aintree, although two years ago the race was delayed by 15 minutes when animal rights protesters gained access to the course, leading to more than 100 arrests.
There were no delays on Saturday and the 34 horses set off at 4pm – an earlier start time introduced as part of the new safety measures. The race was won by Nick Rockett, ridden by jockey Patrick Mullins and trained by his father Willie. This year, over the three days of the festival, there was only one equine fatality, Willy De Houelle, ridden by former Grand National winner Rachael Blackmore, who fell over hurdles on the opening day.
Johnson White, joint trainer of Celebre D’Allen, said the horse was making “good progress”. He told Telegraph Sport: “It’s all very positive news. He made very good progress overnight. He’s now travelling to a yard an hour away from Aintree, where his owner has horses, so he can rest and recuperate rather than have a five-hour trip in the lorry. It’s all very positive.”
