Go Native's fatal injury stuns local syndicate

John McIntyre

THE Galway connections of high class hurdler Go Native are still reeling after the popular nine-year-old suffered a fatal injury on the gallops at Noel Meade’s yard near Navan last Friday morning.Winner of three Grade One races, including the Supreme Novices Hurdle at the 2009 Cheltenham National Hunt festival, Go Native broke a hind leg during a routine workout and had to be put down.

It’s a devastating blow to the horse’s owners, the Galway based Docado Syndicate, headed by Kitty Carr and Eamon Doyle of the Park House Hotel in the city, and trainer Meade, who endured the additional trauma of seeing the injury occurring.

Just the previous Sunday, the success of Go Native’s continued comeback from a serious tendon injury was underlined when he threw down a major challenge to former Champion Hurdler, Hurricane Fly, in another Grade One contest at Punchestown.

Unfortunately, Paul Carberry’s mount took a crashing fall at the last flight in the Morgiana Hurdle, but connections were relieved to see Go Native quickly get to his feet and showing no ill-effects from his high speed tumble.

Indeed, the horse’s preparation for potential upcoming big race targets, the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle and the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton, had been unaffected by that mishap at Punchestown only for tragedy to strike last Friday.

Carr admitted this week that Go Native’s shock passing had left the five members of the Docado Synocate heartbroken. “We are all still feeling numb and the news of his death was just a bolt out of the blue.

“Noel Meade rang me last Friday morning and I presumed it was to discuss future plans fo the horse but, instead, he said that he had ‘terrible news’ – Go Native had broken a leg on the gallops and they had to put him down.

“It was a very dark day after that phone call. The horse was such a big part of our lives and he brought us places we would never have gone. We had been planning ahead about the races he might run in all the way up to Cheltenham next March.”

Carr, however, and the other members of the syndicate, her sister Maura Dowd, nephew Sylvie and neice Anne Marie, and Doyle, have drawn consolation from all the messages of sympathy and good wishes they have received from around the country since Go Native’s demise.

“We even got Mass cards and the staff here in the Hotel (Park House) have really rallied around us since the news broke. The customers have been offering words of comfort as well, but everybody has been so kind. I suppose the horse belonged to the city of Galway.”

She went to pay tribute to horse dealer and trainer, Martin Cullinane of Athenry, from whom they purchased Go Native from. “Martin did great work in nursing the horse back from injury and Noel {Meade} was talking to him on the phone last Friday when the injury occured.” 

At least, Carr and the Docado Syndicate have treasured memories of Go Native’s big race triumphs to cling to. “We have had wonderful times with him, but it’s so sad to see him gone.''

For more,  read this week's Connacht Tribune.