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Australia’s biggest horse race is also one of its deadliest and while this year’s race didn’t have any of the horrific track failures of the recent past, it again showed what an ordeal it can be for some participants.
In the past nine years, seven horses have died in the race or shortly afterwards as a result of injuries sustained during the two-mile event.
All the fatalities were foreign runners, and foreign horses had a hard time again this year.
Six Irish-bred runners who had either traveled over for the race or had recently been imported to Australia competed in this year’s race, and while starting favorite Deauville Legend took a creditable fourth place and Without a Fight finished in midfield, the others had four struggled to just complete the course.
The interpretation was under the whip not long after the half and was taken out of the race about half a mile from home, clearly in distress.
Interpretation had entered the Melbourne Cup under a cloud of injury, having been crippled during the previous start in the Geelong Cup, but after a veterinary examination it was allowed to start.
The Irish-bred horses Numerian, Serpentine and Camorra – recently brought permanently to Australia – were the last three to complete the trail, but all had been slowed down to nearly a walk.
Interpretation (number 23) ranks fourth as the field approaches the first corner. Shortly after the half, he struggled to keep up and had to ride hard before jockey Craig Newitt calmed the horse and pulled it out of the race.
The continuation of the trend of European-bred horses competing in the Melbourne Cup will raise further questions as to why this is so.
The string of recent injuries had led Victorian Racing Club officials to significantly increase their scrutiny of foreign entries, who now have to undergo full-body scans at regular intervals in the months leading up to the race, to uncover hidden injuries.
The regularity of the injuries had led some to question whether the Werribee course where they are trained under quarantine is too shocking for horses used to more yielding grass, while others have pointed to British training methods where the horses spend much longer in training are kept than Australian gallopers given long rest periods between clustered breeds.
In fact, no Australian horses have died at the cup since 1979 when the New Zealand-bred Dulcify was euthanized, tragically just weeks after stroking the field in the Cox Plate in exciting style.
Anthony Van Dyck, the last horse to be euthanized after running the Melbourne Cup, is shown (see horse circled) during the 2020 race
The Melbourne Cup is a huge celebration for thousands of gamblers, but due to the high number of starter fatalities, the 3,200m race itself is becoming increasingly controversial
Racing Victoria said Anthony Van Dyck could not be rescued due to his injury, but a later report of the horse’s death found it crippled a month before it broke in the Cup
Race favourite, Dulcify, suffered a broken pelvis during the race and had to be euthanized.
The brutal and deadly 3,200-meter race has come under increasing criticism in recent years due to grim appeals from fatalities, especially from animal welfare organizations.
The last horse to die in the Cup was Irish four-year-old Anthony Van Dyck in 2020.
Afterwards, PETA issued a scathing statement, calling all horse racing “offensive.”
“The reality of the violent racing industry is that horses are made to run at the expense of their health,” it said.
The Melbourne Cup has been plagued by injuries and deaths of international runners for the past decade. Pictured is Cliffsofmoher being screened by fans after being injured in 2018. He was later put down
Jockey Joao Moriera (back left in blue silk) is taken off the track after falling to the racehorse Regal Monarch in race 4 during the 2017 Melbourne Cup Day. The horse has been euthanized
“These 500-kilogram animals – supported on ankles as small as humans – are pushed beyond their limits, forced to race at breakneck speeds while being beaten.”
The RSPCA issued a statement saying that “events like these are a strong reminder to the community of the real risks to horses associated with racing.”
“Unfortunately, injury and death are the price some horses pay for our entertainment in a sport that puts great pressure on animals to perform to the utmost of their endurance.”
Five-year-old French mare Verema was euthanized after failing to finish when he broke his right front leg in the 2013 race
Point Nepean, pictured after winning the Andrew Ramsden Stakes at Flemington earlier this year, is a late scratch from Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup
In 2021 there was a postponement without horses dying, but because of Covid there were no foreign runners in line.
But with four foreign horses back on the track, there are concerns about a repeat of the tragedy.
Only four internationals will compete for the 3,200-meter race in 2022.
Three are Irish-bred: Without A Fight, Camorra and Deauville Legend, and the British-bred Hoo Ya Mal.
In the face of mounting criticism from animal welfare activists, Racing Victoria has introduced several restrictions to reduce the chance of another tragedy at the 2022 Cup.
Those include a ban on foreign horses that have previously had major fractures or orthopedic surgery.
In 2021, Anthony Van Dyck broke a bullet during the race and was loaded into an ambulance before being put down.
Racing Victoria released a statement at the time saying that he “could not be rescued due to the nature of the injury” and was “humanely euthanized”.
But a report on the horse’s death found it was lame in the Melbourne Cup a month before it broke.
No CT scan was performed to determine the extent of the horse’s injuries.
This year, all runners – foreign and local – will have to undergo CT scans of their legs.
Leg fractures are the most common type of injury that has resulted in horses being euthanized during the Melbourne Cup in recent years.
Additional independent veterinary checks have also been introduced.
The number of foreign horses allowed to run has also been drastically reduced.
In 2021 it was announced that the number of international horses allowed at the Werribee International Quarantine Center would be limited to 24 – down from 42 in 2018 and 29 in 2020 – with the international horses only allowed one run-up in Australia.
Red Giftx is assisted after he was crippled in 2015. He was later euthanized after complications from surgery on his left front bullet
On Monday, the four-year-old Irish stallion Point Nepean was scratched after the extra veterinary inspections.
According to the stable’s vet, he returned “increased blood results” – which could be a sign of a horse developing a disease.
Heavily backed favorites Loft and Durston kicked off the scratching drama last week, with the former revealed to have a tendon injury and the latter a mandatory pullout after Racing Victoria’s mandatory scans.
Roughie Makram was pulled out before the final field was announced, while the $19 Lunar Flare opportunity was scratched on race day.
A positive point in favor of the horses this year is the track conditions in Flemington.
The track is expected to be soft, which theoretically reduces the risk of leg injuries.
In 2019, the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses claimed that “veterinary research confirms that the risk of injury increases with greater track strength.”
According to the organization’s research, 149 horses died on Australian racecourses in the year to July 31, 2021.