Melbourne Cup runner Tralee Rose hospitalised soon after race
The ninth-placed runner in the Melbourne Cup, Tralee Rose, was taken to an animal hospital following the race after it was reportedly galloped on.
The decision to take Tralee Rose to hospital was confirmed by Racing Victoria stewards.
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According to The Age, the decision was taken out of an abundance of caution from the horse's connections, with a view to preventing an infection.
The Symon Wilde-trained runner has been taken to Werribee, suffering from a laceration to one of its hind legs.
The safety of the Melbourne Cup has been a major talking point in recent years, however Tralee Rose is likely to make a full recovery from the injury.
According to racing.com, the only other incident of note to arise from the Melbourne Cup was from 20th placed Persan, who showed signs of heat stress.
“The winner was magnificent and is a champion but we just wonder where would we have finished if (Tralee Rose) was okay,” the horse's owner said after the race.
“It is gut-wrenching, she gave her all. She would have been running under duress and pain and everyone is a bit deflated.
“Everyone is really proud of her but is deflated, it is a crap feeling at the moment.
“The preparation has gone perfect the whole way through and today after 2700m where she is usually trucking into it (she couldn’t).
“We couldn’t believe that 500m out she was not trucking into it, we thought ‘this is not right’.
“Everyone is pretty deflated hoping it is not a tendon and that could be it. Hopefully not.”
Update on Tralee Rose: After being seen by the team at Werribee Vet Clinic, Tralee Rose has no serious injuries. There is a laceration to her hind leg that has been stitched. She will spend the night at the Vet Clinic and return to our stable in Warrnambool tomorrow.
— Wilde Racing (@wilde_racing) November 2, 2021
Opposition to the running of the Cup has intensified, particularly following the death of overseas stayer Anthony Van Dycke in last year's race.
Racing officials have gone to great lengths to reduce the likelihood of a catastrophic injury since, introducing new screening measures to detect if entrants could be at risk.
Two horses had to be vetted before Tuesday morning's scratching deadline, with Delphi and Future Score both under fitness clouds.
Both horses had lameness issues when Racing Victoria ran mandatory veterinary tests on all 24 runners on Monday.
Delphi was given the all-clear on Tuesday morning, however Future Score was scratched just one minute before the deadline.
Matt Cumani’s runner was reportedly cleared initially before being re-examined after the seven-year-old was found to have lameness in his off fore leg.
Verry Elleegant claims historic Melbourne Cup victory
The genius of a master trainer and the brilliance of her jockey have elevated Verry Elleegant to champion racehorse status after a stunning Melbourne Cup win.
Verry Elleegant became the first mare since the legendary Makybe Diva in 2005 and the 14th overall to win Australia's most-celebrated race.
And she did it in a way that confirmed Chris Waller's reputation as a trainer without equal and James McDonald as a jockey that is as gifted as any rider in the world.
Famous for engineering the record-breaking exploits of Winx, Waller claimed his first Melbourne Cup win as Verry Elleegant beat Incentivise and the UK stayer Spanish Mission.
If Winx shaped Waller as a trainer, Verry Elleegant has helped the former New Zealander, who runs stables in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, seal a decade of excellence in Australian racing.
"(Winx) took everything to a different level altogether," Waller told Network Ten.
"She probably made me as a person and gave me the confidence."
Waller now has in his possession one of Australian sport's most prized trophies to go alongside Winx's four Cox Plates.
He launched Verry Elleegant's Cup bid from this year's Cox Plate when she ran third but not before waiting until the 11th hour to add the reigning Australian horse of the year to his Flemington team.
Verry Elleegant finished seventh in last year's race and Waller's decision to try his luck again handed McDonald a Cup lifeline.
McDonald was set to ride Away He Goes before the UK horse was scratched, allowing him reunite with one of his favourite horses.
With AAP
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