The shattered connections of stayer Athabascan have asked to meet with stewards after questioning the reasoning behind their horse’s scratching from the Melbourne Cup.
Athabascan was one of five horses pulled from the race in the past eight days, leaving owners disappointed and trainers frustrated.
Horse physio Tom Simpson tends to Melbourne Cup scratching Athabascan at Randwick on October 30.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
As mentioned earlier in this blog, vets scratched the John O’Shea and Tom Charlton-trained French import last night, finding that it had a cardiac arrhythmia – irregular heartbeat – and was at heightened risk of a cardiac episode if it ran in the $8 million group 1 3200m event at Flemington.
But connections, headed by OTI director Terry Henderson, have asked to have a follow-up meeting with Racing Victoria stewards, claiming the decision was an “interpretation issue” and contrary to their expert advice that showed the horse did not have a problem.
Shattered trainer O’Shea sent a voice message to owners, saying he was “deeply sorry”, but it is “out of my hands”.
Athabascan during trackwork earlier this year.Credit: Janie Barrett
“He had an ECG on his gallop on Saturday and the horse was fine,” O’Shea said. “We’ve provided veterinary evidence to stewards that he had a low troponin level, which means that there is no issue with his heart.
“But they have decided irrespective of all the vet advice we have provided to withdraw him.
“I can’t explain it. The horse is 100 per cent health[y] and sound with all our data that we use is particularly good.”
Racing Victoria explained its decision in a statement on Monday night and said ECG reports and the results of blood tests were “forwarded to three independent experts specialising in equine internal medicine, including cardiology.”
“They each independently advised that, due to the nature of the cardiac arrhythmia, Athabascan should undergo further extensive testing before being permitted to race again on the grounds of safety,” the statement said.
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“Acting on these opinions and having considered additional material provided by the stable, RV veterinarians advised the Stewards that in their view the horse should be withdrawn from the Melbourne Cup due to an increased risk of a cardiac episode.”
It follows the withdrawal of Aidan O’Brien’s Jan Brueghel, Kiwi entrant Mahrajaan and the Trent Busuttin-Nat Young pair of Brayden Star and Muramasa because they had all failed CT leg scans. Busuttin and Young released a statement to say they were “perplexed” by the ruling, while O’Brien said the decision-making process had become “ridiculous”.
Racing Victoria maintains that the Melbourne Cup has been run without serious injury since 2021, and makes no apologies for its protocols.
