Three-time Cheltenham Festival winner Vautour has been put down following a "freak accident".
The seven-year-old, trained by Willie Mullins, was discovered to have a broken leg on Sunday.
Vautour had won the Supreme Novices' Hurdle in 2014, the JLT Novices' Chase in 2015 and the Ryanair Chase in March.
"It's been a lovely, dry day here and Vautour was out in the paddock with his usual companion Shaneshill," Mullins said in a statement.
"One of the girls went out to feed him. There didn't appear to be anything untoward as Shaneshill was grazing away, but Vautour was found to have broken his foreleg.
"He goes out there every day and it's just a freak accident. It's tough to take."
Vautour won 10 of his 16 starts overall and finished second in his final race at Punchestown in April.
Written by
Barney Corkhill
Barney Corkhill
