A DEVASTATED owner has spoken of his heartbreak after his beloved horse died hours after winning the biggest race of his life.
Nobody Listens was a brilliant winner of the Group 3 Turf Monster Stakes at Parx in the US on Saturday night.
It was the horse’s 14th win in 26 starts and worth £110,000 to owners Matt Kwiatkowski, Jason Kaylor and Roger Browning.
But their joy turned to immense sadness after a Facebook post from Kwiatkowski confirmed the five-year-old grey gelding had died in a ‘trailer incident’.
Kwiatkowski, who was hoping to send the runner to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in November, wrote: “Yesterday was one of the greatest days when Nobody Listens won the Group 3 Monster at Parx.
“Today was one of the worst.
“Nobody Listens had an unforeseen trailer incident resulting in us losing him.
“We love and cherish every moment that we shared with him.
“The ride Nobody Listens took us on was the greatest one we have ever been on. Our hearts are broken as we share this tragic news.
“Thank you to all who supported and helped him make him who he was.”
It is believed the horse had been travelling back to base with trainer Tim Eggleston when the fatal incident occurred.
Punters who watched the horse in action were quick to express their condolences.
One said: “Devastating, feeling so sad for this beautiful horse and his connections. Life can be so unfair.”
Another wrote: “This is heartbreaking news. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for them with the shock and grief that followed so quickly after the joy.”
While one comment read: “One of my worst nightmares. The connections of this lovely horse are some of the nicest people I’ve met.
“And they were so proud of their horse. My heart goes out to them and Nobody Listens.”
Nobody Listens had won over £500,000 in prize money and had just won his fourth race in a row.