CliffsofMoher breaks down in 2018 Melbourne Cup with vets forced to euthanise star galloper

TWELVE months on from Melbourne Cup glory it was heartache for the O’Brien and Williams families after The Cliffsofmoher fractured a shoulder and was euthanised.

The Cliffsofmoher at Caulfield last month. Pic: Getty Images

TWELVE months on from Melbourne Cup glory it was heartache for the O’Brien and Williams families after The Cliffsofmoher fractured a shoulder and was euthanised.

The Irish galloper, one of trainer Aidan O’Brien’s three runners in the Cup, broke down 50m before the winning post the first time around.

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Officials steering the horses away at the end of the race, after The Cliffsofmoher suffered a fall. Picture: Alex Coppel

Owned and raced by six-time Melbourne Cup winner Lloyd Williams, The Cliffsofmoher, was in front of only five runners, one off the rail and in between Red Cardinal and Who Shot Thebarman when he suffered the injury.

Jockey Ryan Moore did his best to pull up the horse which continued past the winning post before eventually stopping and the English rider was able to dismount safely and take his saddle off.

Tarps still up on the track. Trainers still working on Cliffsofmoher. Shocking injury, feel for those involved. #MelbourneCup pic.twitter.com/Yu6q5bBuSE

— Jase Kemp (@jasetaylorkemp) November 6, 2018

Vets attended to the horse on the track, but he could not be saved. Moore was unhurt.

Joseph O’Brien, the son of Aidan who trained Rekindling to victory for Williams in last year’s Cup, said it was “very sad” to lose the five-year-old, which ran third in the Caulfield Cup earlier in the spring

Officials steering the horses away at the end of the race, after The Cliffsofmoher suffered a fall. Picture: Alex Coppel

“It’s a shocking thing but unfortunately things can happen to a horse galloping around the field at home. It’s very sad,” O’Brien said. “It could have been worse, Ryan (Moore) could have taken a fall off him, someone could have been seriously injured.”

The Cliffsofmoher was third in the Caulfield Cup last month. Pic: Getty Images

Moore didn’t comment on the incident, which came a day after the O’Brien team lost another galloper, Pentagon, which brokedown during a gallop at Werribee.

It was the third time in five years the Cup had been marred by a horse’s death.

Ryan Moore look dejected after Cliffsofmoher broke down

In 2014, race favourite and Caulfield Cup winner Admire Rakti died after collapsing from heart failure in the stalls minutes after the race.

Import Araldo had to be euthanised after kicking out and breaking a rear leg on a fence, spooked by a flag as he returned to scale.

What a phenomenal win + ride! After settling second last, Cross Counter finished full of running. @kpmcevoy = patience personified. pic.twitter.com/pBqgMUjnZQ

— Racing.com (@Racing) November 6, 2018

Racing Victoria’s integrity service manager Jamie Stier said a post-mortem would be conducted on The Cliffsofmoher to determine whether there were other issues that led to the incident.

O’Brien said race favourite Yucatan, which finished 11th, failed to handle the soft track and vets reported him to be lame post-race.

CROSS COUNTER!

Kerrin McEvoy finds the gap and storms home to win the 2018 Lexus #MelbourneCup What a moment for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin. 🙌👏 pic.twitter.com/lYli37qfJ8

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) November 6, 2018

— with Ben Broad