Sadly, rumours about Black Caviar's half-brother Jimmy live on

FOR horse racing the death of Jimmy, swirling in dark innuendo, might cut deeper than the story of Bill Vlahos, writes Matt Stewart.

FOR horse racing the death of Jimmy, swirling in dark innuendo, might cut deeper than the story of Bill Vlahos.

The idea that one of racing's innocent athletes could have been used as the tool of a desperately unravelling empire, its only real remaining value as an insurance claim, is unthinkable - yet people think it.

The Vlahos story, the alleged grand scale con, had a racing theme but the racetrack was just the backdrop.

It could have been a property or stock market scandal. Racing did not cause it.

CASH FIGHT LOOMS AFTER $5M JIMMY DIES

But those who wonder about horse racing, that horses are just disposable gambling fodder, will now struggle even more to understand a sport that seems to be drifting from the mainstream.

The reality, I am sure, is that Jimmy was treated like royalty.

Rumour that he was slow and never going to set the racetrack alight is nonsense. Big sister Belle Couture is a year older and hadn't been let off the bridle before her recent debut. No-one would have known if Jimmy could run.

Former champion jockey Simon Marshall said he was devastated by Jimmy's death. He said the remaining staff at beleaugured BC3 were in tears yesterday.

Marshall said the thought that anyone could have had a sinister hand in Jimmy's demise was "unthinkable.''

"The horse was in 24 hour care, the last one looked at in the morning, the last one looked at night. He was Australia's first $5 million yearling, he was a special animal," Marshall said.

"I loved the horse. His courage during his time at the clinic was remarkable. He was special.''