TRAGEDY struck one of the most high-profile Irish exports in recent memory yesterday, when Aidan O’Brien’s former rising star Changingoftheguard died in bizarre circumstances in Melbourne.
The Ballydoyle graduate was sold to top Australian handler David Hayes late last year for almost $1m. But the four-year-old never got to show racegoers here his undoubted staying class having been hampered by injury since his arrival.
And yesterday the tale of woe came to a tragic end when after complications during what should have been a routine surgery, Changingoftheguard was destroyed. Undergoing a gelding operation that should have caused little problems, the son of Montjeu ruptured a bowel.
"He suffered a ruptured bowel during the operation and didn’t survive. He was put down for humane reasons," Hayes said.
"That has never happened at Lindsay Park before and we’ve had hundreds, even thousands, done. Sometimes a horse can injure a leg when getting up after an operation but not this."
O’Brien had actually initially entered Changingoftheguard as one of his own runners for last year’s Melbourne Cup but he ended up not running in controversial circumstances, when race stewards ruled him out on veterinary advice.
He was seen as Hayes best bet for this year’s 150th Melbourne Cup.
"That’s knocked the guts out of us for the 150th Cup," added Hayes, who also lost stable star Our Aqaleem yesterday. "I can’t remember a worse 12 hours for the stable. I’ve never been as bullish so far out about two horses for a Melbourne Cup."
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, March 12, 2010
