UNFORTUNATELY we have a problem with Altior after It was discovered on Saturday morning that he was suffering from a severe bout of colic.

As a consequence, he was taken to the equine hospital very very quickly where he had to undergo a four hour operation to remove a considerable amount of his intestine. It was a big operation and not straightforward.

On Sunday morning, he was still extremely uncomfortable so had to undergo further surgery due to complications.

There is some reasonably positive news in the fact that this morning he is stable, but still critical. Pat Pugh has been to see him on several occasions and he is currently in extremely good hands with all of the team at Donnington Valley.

It’s a terrible shame because he deserves a long and happy retirement and was really enjoying life at Chloe and Mick Fitzgerald’s.

It’s been extremely tough, and no horse deserves this, especially dear Altior who gave so much pleasure to everyone on the track.

In an ironic twist, we welcomed his gorgeous 4yo old brother to Seven Barrows last week. He is the most handsome son of Camelot and is really pleasing us all.

We are all praying and doing everything humanely possible to ensure he can pull through and continue living life as he should.