King thanks public for support following death of Trueshan
An emotional King was keen to pay tribute to a horse that provided him with many memorable moments and thanked the kind words both he and his team have received.
King told ITV racing: 'It's been a very tough 24 hours, obviously, but the one thing I will say is the outpouring of messages has been unbelievable.
'I knew he was popular, but there's been well over 200 messages and I'm still getting them now and it means an awful lot, it has helped me and it has helped the staff.
'He's been a friend and a very straightforward horse to train. Incredibly sound and I don't think he's ever missed a day, I don't think he's had a bruised foot, I don't think he's had anything. All right, there have been days we haven't run him and that was solely because he didn't want fast ground.'
King was also keen to stress that Trueshan's death was nothing more than an accident and praised the veterinary team that attended to the nine-year-old.
'What happened yesterday was a freak accident and nothing to do with the training or the ground and it is just one of those awful things that could happen going up the all-weather,' continued King.
'I remember old Viking Flagship who was retired and my hack. I never ride out Monday morning as we school and then Monday afternoon we turn them out in the outdoor school to let them chill and he got down, he rolled and took off, had a canter round and he broke a hind leg.
'It happens, it's awful, but it does happen. Trueshan is coming back to Barbury, he will be buried to next to Viking Flagship, Balder Succes and Katchit, so that helps.
'It did help (being with him in the final moments) and Mark White my travelling head lad was there in an instant and I said please hang on until I get there to say goodbye. The vets were superb, I just want to get that across, it was peaceful, it was calm and they were professional and it means a lot.'
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