7th April 2008
Press release from Peter Bowen following McKelvey’s death on Saturday

We would like to extend our thanks to everyone for all hundreds of messages of condolences that we continue to receive following the tragic loss of our much loved horse, McKelvey on Saturday.

We are absolutely devastated; his death comes as such a shock to us all, particularly our team that have worked unbelievably hard to get him to the starting post on Saturday.

McKelvey unseated his jockey at the 20th fence he then galloped loose into a barrier where he sustained a broken back.

He had been examined by many vets who all said that he was 100% fit, and well to race. We believe that he was the best he had ever been despite having had sustained an injury at last year’s Grand National. He was travelling better than he had the year before in the race and that this was just an unfortunate accident.

‘Muckers’ had the biggest character with an amazing presence, not only does he leave an empty stable but the yard won’t be the same without him, his demise is ever so more tragic as he was at the peak of his career. He was simply one of the best horses I've ever trained and clearly adored by hundreds of people in and out of racing. His recent feature on the BBC 'ONE' show webcam was a huge success for racing.

I would like to extend my condolences to Rhiannon his groom who looked after him so well and his owner Noel Elliott who is also grieving the loss of his mother who died last week.

Peter & Karen Bowen