LONDON, April 28: Persian Punch, one of flat racing's best loved horses, died during a race at Ascot on Wednesday, a spokesman for the racecourse said. The 11-year-old, recently voted the seventh most popular racehorse of all time in a Racing Post newspaper poll, was running in the Sagaro Stakes when he collapsed.

According to a vet who attended to him, Persian Punch had a "major circulatory collapse caused by the rupture of an artery", and, despite being given oxygen and steroids, could not be saved.

Persian Punch, who was trained by David Elsworth, never won at Ascot but was runner-up twice in the Gold Cup. He won four races last year, including the Goodwood Cup. Although horses over the age of 10 regularly continue to race over hurdles and jumps, they rarely stay in training for so long and compete at such a high level on the flat. --Reuters