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Image: Robert Cianflone / Getty Images
2014-11-04 04:32:58 UTC
The Melbourne Cup is the race that stops a nation, but on Tuesday it took the life of two champion race horses.
The celebrations after the winning horse, Protectionist, crossed the line had barely kicked off when news emerged that Japanese horse Admire Rakti had died in his stalls.
On Tuesday evening, it was confirmed another horse, Araldo, had been put down after injuring his leg following the race at Flemington Racecourse.
Starting the race as the A$6 favourite to win, Admire Rakti, a Tomoyuki Umeda-trained horse could be seen under pressure as it took the final bend at Flemington Racecourse and dropped to last place. After finishing last at 25 lengths behind the second-last horse, he collapsed in his stall. Chief Steward Terry Bailey confirmed the death less than an hour after the race.
Disturbing footage has been released of the moment Admire Rakti collapsed, showing the stress he was under immediately following the race. The horse's team begins to panic as it becomes clear something is not right with the champion stallion.
Warning: Graphic footage.
The horse's wealthy Japanese owner Riichi Kondo had advised his entourage with him in Melbourne not to bet on the 7-year-old stallion for fear of bad luck after it scored the coveted eight barrier.
Racing Victoria's Head of Veterinary and Equine Welfare, Dr Brian Stewart, confirmed the horse had died of heart failure. He said in a statement to Mashable the circumstances surrounding the horse's passing are extremely rare and could not have been prevented.
“Our sympathies are extended at this time to the owner Mr Kondo, trainer Mr Umeda and his staff who cared deeply for their horse and are naturally saddened by their tragic loss,” Stewart said.
Admire Rakti in training yesterday.
He also confirmed the Melbourne Cup runner, Mike Moroney-trained Araldo, fractured a pastern bone in its right hind leg when it got spooked by a spectator waving a flag and kicked the fence. The horse, who was riden by jockey Dwayne Dunn, was treated by on-site vets and transported by ambulance to the University of Melbourne Veterinary Hospital where he passed away.
"It is with sadness that we confirm that Araldo has had to be humanely euthanised," Stewart said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
Ward Young, a spokesperson for the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses called for the industry to respect a deceased horse with one minute's silence and asked if the party was really worth the deaths.
"It puts a grey cloud over the Melbourne Cup," Young told Mashable. "And while it is a shock to the people who were at the Melbourne Cup today, it is a common occurrence in racing. We have documented 125 horses dying between Aug. 1, 2013 to July 31, 2014. That is one every 2.9 days."
"We would like to see a minute’s silence for the horse, rather than the industry just sweeping it under the carpet."
Only last year, mare Verema suffered a horrific leg injury and pulled out of the Cup halfway through, leaving vets no alternative but to have her euthanised.
The winning German horse Protectionist, trained by Andreas Wohler and ridden by English jockey Ryan Moore, was an outsider chance at the race Tuesday at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne before it took out the Cup.
Protectionist, who had the same father as last year's winner Fiorente, is the first win for Germany in the Australian thoroughbred race. He beat England's Red Cadeaux and New Zealand's Who Shot Thebarman to win the 3,200-metre race easily.
"He's won very easy, that's a very good horse," Moore told Channel Seven at the finish line. "Obviously it's very special."
This story is developing ...
Topics: Australia, melbourne cup, protectionist, US & World
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