Horse hospitalised after running in the Melbourne Cup

There’s been lots of talk about horse safety in recent years and one of the runners in this year’s Melbourne Cup has been taken to hospital.

Tralee Rose was taken to hospital after being galloped on during the Melbourne Cup but avoided any serious injuries.

The horse — which finished ninth in the race that stops the nation and is trained by Symon Wilde — suffered a laceration to a hind leg and was taken away for further assessment at Werribee Animal Hospital to check there wasn’t any structural damage.

The cut was stitched up and she spent the night at the vet clinic but will return to her stable in Warrnambool today.

One of the horse’s owners, Peter Fitzgerald, said after the race: “The winner was magnificent and is a champion but we just wonder where would we have finished if (Tralee Rose) was OK.

“It is gut-wrenching, she gave her all. She would have been running under duress and pain and everyone is a bit deflated.

“Everyone is really proud of her but is deflated, it is a c**p feeling at the moment.

“The preparation has gone perfect the whole way through and today after 2700m where she is usually trucking into it (she couldn’t).

“We couldn’t believe that 500m out she was not trucking into it, we thought ‘this is not right’.

“Everyone is pretty deflated hoping it is not a tendon and that could be it. Hopefully not.”

The Cliffsofmoher was euthanised in 2018. Picture: Jason Edwards

Horse safety at the Melbourne Cup has been a major talking point in recent years. Anthony Van Dyck was euthanised after breaking down in 2020, becoming the seventh horse since 2013 to die on Cup Day. There was strong opposition to last year’s event, with the hashtag #NupToTheCup trending on social media.

The death of Anthony Van Dyck emboldened anti-racing advocates and animal welfare groups and after last year’s race, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals took aim at what it called a “demonstration of national senselessness”.

In 2019, there were fears for Rostropovich after the gelding pulled up lame on the home straight and limped to the line in last place. The horse suffered a stress fracture to its pelvis but thankfully, made a full recovery.

In 2018 The Cliffsofmoher had to be euthanised after suffering a fractured shoulder during the Melbourne Cup, sparking a similar outcry.

The five-year-old’s death three years ago followed these previous deaths in Melbourne Cup day races:

— In 2013, Verema was euthanised after snapping a bone in her leg.

— In 2014, Admire Rakti collapsed and died in his stall after a race and Araldo broke a leg and was euthanised.

— In 2015, Red Cadeaux broke his left foreleg, was rushed to the vet for surgery and was euthanised some days later.

— In 2016, Regal Monarch died after a dramatic mid-race fall.

CliffsofMoher pulled up injured in 2018 and had to be euthanised. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)

In response to recent fatalities, race organisers this year took extra precautions to ensure the wellbeing of all horses. The 35 fourth acceptors for the Melbourne Cup were required to undergo screening with a sophisticated CT scanner at Werribee, to pick up any pre-existing medical issues and make sure all the horses were healthy to run.

However, the machine broke down last week and resulted in an urgent replacement part needing to be shipped over from the US. At the time of the malfunction, only 19 of the 35 fourth acceptors had been scanned.

In the aftermath of the chaotic development, Racing Victoria implemented new measures as a workaround while playing the waiting game for the CT scanner to be fixed. Those horses that had not yet been scanned were required to undergo comprehensive X-rays of their distal limbs, which were then to be examined by three imaging specialists.

Originally published as Horse hospitalised after running in the Melbourne Cup