HEREFORDSHIRE trainer Michael Scudamore has confirmed that Welsh National winner Monbeg Dude has retired due to a recurrence of an injury.

The horse – owned by a syndicate that included former England rugby stars Mike Tindall and James Simpson-Daniel – also won at Cheltenham and came third in the Grand National.

"He has been such a wonderful horse and it has been a pleasure to play a small part in his strange but true story," said Scudamore.

"He will always mean the world to me and I would not be training the nice horses we are today if was not for Monbeg.

"As a group of owners he gave four friends the most fun you could ever imagine. In the yard he really was a Dude, he really loved being a race horse, he loved the attention when people came to see him and was great fun to ride."