Charges have been officially laid against a 26-year-old man after he alleged threatened the life of a top horse leading to a premier stakes event this past summer

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Guardian.co.uk has reported that Andrew Rodgerson of Rochdale, Lancashire, UK has been charged with a single count of blackmail.

It is alleged that Rodgerson sent threats via text message and email to the ownership connections of Conduit, a leading thoroughbred overseas. It is alleged that Rodgerson sent messages to the connections stating that the horse would be killed if he were not removed from competing in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes this past July.

Conduit was the winner of the 2008 Breeders' Cup Turf and is said to have an estimated stud value of £5 million.

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(With files from guardian.co.uk)