Melbourne Cup 2015: Prince Of Penzance fights back from serious injuries to win great race

PRINCE Of Penzance, the bolter who created racing history at Flemington on Tuesday, is lucky to be alive, let alone winning the Melbourne Cup.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 03: Michelle Payne riding Prince Of Penzance returns to scale after winning race 7 the Emirates Melbourne Cup on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 3, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

PRINCE Of Penzance, the bolter who created racing history at Flemington on Tuesday, is lucky to be alive, let alone winning the Melbourne Cup.

Trainer Darren Weir said Prince Of Penzance has courageously recovered from potentially career-ending injury twice and also a serious illness that nearly claimed his life.

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“This horse has had two joint operations and they are not easy for a horse to get over,’’ Weir said. “Each one of them takes a certain amount of a horse’s ability.

“We are lucky we have the straight track at Ballarat and the Warrnambool beach stable set-up because we have been able to manage his injuries.

“But then when he ran in the Sandown Classic last year, he pulled up lame and we had to get a bone chip removed from a joint.’’

Weir said Prince Of Penzance was due to return to training last summer when he suffered a severe colic attack.

“It was pretty crook, he had colic and a twisted bowel,’’ Weir said. “But we are so lucky the Ballarat Vet Clinic was nearby and they were able to save him.’’

Weir said Prince Of Penzance’s five-start spring campaign had gone well but he did not expect the stayer could win the Melbourne Cup.

Prince Of Penzance, a $50,000 yearling purchase, scored his seventh win from 24 starts and took his prizemoney over $4.2 million with his Cup triumph,

Weir was then asked what was next for Prince Of Penzance, perhaps the Sydney Cup in the autumn or return to defend his Melbourne Cup title next year.

“I don’t care what he does,’’ an incredulous Weir said. “He has a place in my paddock forever.’’

Originally published as Melbourne Cup 2015: Prince Of Penzance fights back from serious injuries to win great race