No dead or injured horses in the Melbourne Cup – but animal rights activists have STILL found something to moan about after jockey Mark Zahra’s win
- There were no casualties during this year’s Melbourne Cup
- Comes after a horse died on the eve of the race
- But activists still complained about winner Mark Zahra
The Melbourne Cup was finished without any dead or injured horses, a major boost for the major sporting event, but animal activists still found reason to complain on Tuesday.
Mark Zahra’s Without A Fight took home victory at Flemington to cap a brilliant season after winning the Caulfield Cup at the end of last month.
Magical Lagoon, piloted by Mark Du Plessis and trained by Chris Waller, finished in last place, while Right You Are failed to finish after a stop in the 200m.
The horse appeared to be suffering from heat exhaustion but was immediately cooled with ice water in the pre-parade area.
Racing Victoria stewards confirmed that ‘no significant finding was made on any runner’ at the end of the race.
No horse died or was injured during the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday afternoon
Racing Victoria stewards confirmed ‘no significant findings were detected’
The latest update comes after a horse died on the eve of the race at Flemington.
The filly, Rejuvenated, was put to sleep on Friday after being injured during training – the day before the four-day carnival officially started.
Footage from the Victoria Racing Club shows Rejuvenated taking part in a jump-out event earlier that day, where she came second.
Witnesses claim that Rejuvenated was injured on the track shortly after the video stopped.
Despite no casualties on Tuesday, animal activists took to X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, to complain about the winner, Zahra.
The Melbourne Cup has drawn criticism from animal rights supporters and anti-gambling lobbies over the years, with critics keen to point out that Zahra was fined for overusing his whip during his victory over Caulfield in October.
‘It is no surprise that Melbourne Cup winning jockey Mark Zahra is the same one penalized in the Caulfield Cup for animal cruelty (excessive whipping) of the same horse ‘Without a Fight’.
‘A farce, because the prize money is so big that they simply pay the fine.’
However, animal rights activists still had issues with the winning jockey, Mark Zahra
Another user wrote: ‘Winning jockey Mark Zahra handed over the Harry White whip after being fined $50,000 for overuse of the whip in the Caulfield Cup #irony.’
‘How lucky that “Without A Fight” wasn’t destroyed!’ said a third poster.
‘Horses shouldn’t be run in such heat, or whipped, just so people can gamble. It’s obscene.’
However, other X users mocked animal rights activists after the huge race passed without any deaths or injuries.