Willie Mullins confirms death of Cheltenham hurdler Diverge following tendon injury at Punchestown festival

Willie Mullins has announced the tragic passing of Diverge, the talented third-place finisher in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. The young horse suffered a life-ending tendon injury at the Punchestown festival last week. Despite his inexperience, Diverge impressed with an impressive third-place finish in the Cheltenham Festival opener. He was sent off at 4-1 for the Grade 1 Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown, but unfortunately, he suffered a bad overreach during that contest which resulted in trailing last of the five runners. Mullins stated that Diverge overreached badly and did a lot of damage to his tendon. Despite efforts to save him, he was unable to be saved as a riding horse or as a pet. Diverge exhibited immense potential in his short career, winning his maiden hurdle at Punchestown by 23 lengths in January. He was then pitched in deep with the big players in the Supreme where he held off subsequent Aintree Grade 1 winner Inthepocket for third place, only behind Marine Nationale and Facile Vega. Diverge was owned by Chris Jones and boasted a rating of 147 over hurdles. He won a Longchamp maiden on the Flat for Freddy Head before joining Mullins. The promising five-year-old looked like he might develop into one of the leading novice chasers next season with some bookmakers pricing him as low as 14-1 for the 2024 Arkle.