Ex-O’Brien star putdown in bizarre circumstances

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.