Saintly dies: Melbourne Cup winning horse dead aged 24

ONE of Australia’s greatest ever racehorses, the winner of the 1996 Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup for trainer Bart Cummings, has died aged 24.

Champion racehorse Saintly has died. Picture: Darren Tindale

CHAMPION racehorse Saintly, the winner of the 1996 Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup for trainer Bart Cummings, has died aged 24.

Cummings’ son Anthony announced the death of the gelding known as the “horse from heaven” via Twitter this morning.

“Saintly, the horse from heaven, has gone home. He gave us so much,” Cummings tweeted.

Saintly on his way to a commanding win in the 1996 Melbourne Cup.

Darren Beadman steers Saintly to a clear victory.

Saintly, ridden by Beadman, finishes strongly in the run to the post to score a narrow victory in the 1996 Cox Plate.

Bart Cummings with Saintly and the 1996 Melbourne Cup.

Saintly joins the 2010 Melbourne Cup Parade.

Saintly was one of the greats of thoroughbred racing, best remembered for pulling off the tough

Cox Plate/Melbourne Cup double in 1996.

But his career ended at the peak of his powers, just one race after his memorable win in the 1996 Cup.

Saintly was Bart Cummings’ horse.

The Cup legend bred, owned and trained him, later selling a majority share to his friend Dato Tan Chin Nan.

Saintly had a special relationship with jockey Darren Beadman, who rode him to all his Group One race victories - the Melbourne Cup, the Cox Plate, the Australian Cup and the 1997 CF Orr Stakes, his final race.

Beadman was to have ridden Octagonal through the 1996 Spring Racing Carnival but switched to Saintly.

“A horse like Saintly will forever live on in racing folklore, partly because he was associated with Bart,” Beadman said in a recent interview, prior to Saintly’s death.

“People loved Bart and so therefore people loved Saintly.”

Saintly was to have run in the Japan Cup but severe travel sickness forced Cummings to withdraw him from the race.

He was named Australia’s champion racehorse in 1997 but broke down with a bowed tendon after his Orr Stakes win in the 1997 autumn carnival, in which he came from behind to out-gallop Cut Up Rough.

Cummings tried several times to return Saintly to the track, without success, and the gelding was

retired.

Originally published as Saintly dies: Melbourne Cup winning horse dead aged 24