A horse death at the Caulfield Cup has overshadowed the 150th running of the Australian race, after Oaks winner Ohope Wins was euthanised following a two-horse fall involving defending champion Half Yours.
The incident occurred on the home bend, only minutes after the capacity field had left the barriers. Ohope Wins was unable to avoid Half Yours, who had fallen during a contest between Green Spaces and Kings Valley.
Both jockeys involved, Mark Zahra on Half Yours and Jye McNeil on Ohope Wins, were taken to hospital for observation. They escaped serious injury, although Half Yours suffered a laceration and was due to undergo a thorough veterinary examination on Saturday night.
A green tarp was placed around Ohope Wins as medical staff attended the scene, leaving jockeys and spectators in shock. The stewards’ inquiry into the fall was adjourned until a later date.
Officials have not attributed blame to any rider. Rachel King, who was riding Green Spaces, described the race as a “messy-run race” but did not address the bumping duel directly.
Trainer Tony McEvoy ran on to the track to check on Zahra before returning to the mounting yard visibly shaken but relieved to report that both his horse and jockey were safe.
Ohope Wins, trained by Chris Waller and owned by Yulong, had won the Australian Oaks and had been expected to become a broodmare after her racing career. In a statement, Waller and Yulong paid tribute to the mare.
“A dual Oaks winner and champion in her native New Zealand, Ohope Wins was a true star of the turf, but to the people who looked after her everyday, she was so much more,” they said.
“She was brave. She was kind. She was full of character. But more importantly, she was loved.”
“Our hearts go out to all involved throughout her career, especially those who cared for her on a daily basis.”
The tragedy unfolded as connections of Half Yours were hoping to celebrate a second consecutive Caulfield Cup victory. Their excitement turned to disbelief as they waited for news of the champion’s condition.
“To have the excitement and the highs we had last year and [to have] this happen today, we love the horse,” managing part-owner Jason Biasin said. “You just hope he’s OK. We hope Mark’s OK.”
Caulfield Cup victory overshadowed
The fatal fall cast a shadow over an otherwise remarkable win for trainer Gavin Bedggood and jockey John Allen, whose grey Kingswood defied a wide draw and started at $26.
Kingswood raced three wide before holding off fellow grey Saint George and British raider Enfjaar. Favourite Cosmic Crusader finished fourth.
Bedggood was unaware of the accident behind him while celebrating the biggest win of his training career. He said he had initially been disappointed when Kingswood drew barrier 17 and had discussed the challenge with Allen.
“We were pretty much posted three-wide all the way and everyone wanted to question the horse’s credentials at a mile-and-a-half,” Bedggood said. “We couldn’t condemn him on his run here, it was on a [track rating of] heavy 9 and you had to put a line through it. It’s great to be vindicated.”
The former jumps jockey credited Darren Weir with encouraging Kingswood’s owners to send the horse to him, saying Weir had compared the grey’s toughness and constitution with those of Puissance De Lune.
Allen praised Bedggood after the victory, saying: “Gavin, he’s a trainer going places, we’ll be hearing a lot more of him after I’m retired.”
The fatality has renewed concern around the Melbourne Cup carnival, after seven horse deaths were recorded in seven years from 2013 to 2020. The Melbourne Cup has been fatality-free since 2021, but Saturday’s accident has placed racing authorities under renewed scrutiny as the spring season continues.
The $6 million Caulfield Cup was staged with an additional $1 million in prize money to mark the race’s 150th running, but the day’s celebration was ultimately defined by the loss of Ohope Wins.
