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Princess Anne and Family

Zara Tindall’s horse, Monbeg Dude, forced into retirement

Zara Tindall’s racehorse, Monbeg Dude, has been retired from racing at the age of ten. 2013 Welsh National winner and last year’s Grand National third, has been retired by trainer Michael Scudamore

The horse, which was trained by Michael Scudamore, won many prestigious races including the 2013 Welsh Grand National and also finished 3rd in the 2015 Grand National – the most famous horse race in the world.

Monbeg Dude cost the Tindall’s a total of £12,000 at auction. However, he has won £261,997 worth of prize money in his career.

Mrs Tindall allegedly called her then boyfriend, Mike, an ‘idiot’ for paying that much money for a quarter share in a ‘hopeless’ horse. However, she will have certainly changed her tune now!

Monbeg Dude has been out of action for 18 months now after suffering from a leg injury. The last race he took part in was the Grand National at Aintree where he finished 3rd, winning £105,500.

James Simpson-Daniel, who co-owns the horse alongside the Tindalls, said: “He had just started to up his work and a new injury was discovered.

“We could have let him recover for a year or retire him- and we decide it wasn’t worth the risk.

“Given his age and what he has achieved for us, we didn’t want to push him hard and decided this morning what we were going to do.

“Today’s news is disappointing but we can reflect on how much we have achieved with him,” Simpson-Daniel continued.

“For me there is more than one highlight. The Welsh National is up there, as is the first time he won at Cheltenham as it was so unexpected.

“And the days out at the Grand National, when he was seventh and you thought he couldn’t come back and do any better. Then he bettered that with the third, which turned out to be his final run.

“He has been a horse of a lifetime.”