Rough Quest, the only horse trained by a Donegal man to win the Grand National, has died.
Tributes have been paid to the horse and trainer Terry Casey who was from Downings.
Expertly trained by the late Casey and owned by Andrew Wates, he was also placed in the 1996 Gold Cup and in two King Georges.
Mick Fitzgerald was aboard Rough Quest for his finest hour when he won the National as the 7-1 favourite.
“He won the National like the good thing he was that day, and it’s always nice when the class horses win the National”
“It’s very said news. David Arbuthnot (Wates’ trainer) rang me last night to tell me,” said Fitzgerald.
“But, if I was a horse, I’d want a retirement like he had.
“I’d been down there to see him a couple of times in the last two years and he looked magnificent. He really got to enjoy retirement, unlike some.
“He won the National like the good thing he was that day, and it’s always nice when the class horses win the National.
“He was very well trained by the late Terry Casey, who was a very underrated trainer.”
