Anthony Van Dyck, was lame a month before he broke down in the Melbourne Cu

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Anthony Van Dyck, was lame a month before he broke down in the Melbourne Cu

2 years 11 months ago
#817252
The highest-profile international horse to die at an Australian racetrack, English Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck, was lame a month before he broke down in the Melbourne Cup, raising questions about why he was allowed to run.

A report by Racing Victoria into the death found the Aidan O’Brien-trained stallion was administered a nerve block injection on October 9. Despite concerns about the horse’s fitness, CT scans were not done to determine the extent of the horse’s injuries.

Anthony Van Dyck was administered a nerve block before his run in the Caulfield Cup.
Anthony Van Dyck was administered a nerve block before his run in the Caulfield Cup.CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES

A nerve block is a type of anaesthesia commonly used by vets when a horse is lame to determine where it is sore. A CT scan is a more advanced diagnostic tool used to identify the nature and severity of an injury.

A CT imaging machine was available. One was installed at the University of Melbourne’s U-Vet Werribee Equine Centre, about five kilometres from the facility where the horse was quarantined, after The Cliffsofmoher – another O’Brien Cup fancy – was euthanised after being injured in the 2018 Melbourne Cup.

Anthony Van Dyck is the seventh horse – all internationals – to die in the Melbourne Cup in as many years. The high fatality rate, which statistically makes the two-mile handicap one of the world’s deadliest races, has pitched the event into crisis and forced Racing Victoria to re-examine how international horses are managed throughout the spring carnival.

The horse was the second O’Brien runner to be euthanised after the Cup and one of four horses trained by Mr O’Brien to have died during the past three spring carnivals. Mr O’Brien did not attend last year’s Melbourne Cup due to COVID-19 restrictions and could not be reached for comment.

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Sources familiar with the unpublished report say it makes no criticism of Mr O’Brien, the management of the highly prized horse or the conduct of the treating vet. However, its findings will raise fresh questions about whether the horse should have started the race.

“I don’t accept that horses just die,” leading Melbourne racing vet John Walker told The Age. “Injuries occur; that happens. But was all the information collected to make an informed decision to minimise the risk of a catastrophic injury?

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“Did they exhaust all diagnostic tools?”

Dr Walker believes a CT scan could have provided crucial information about whether the horse was safe to run.

The fatality report will be released on Wednesday. It was due to be published earlier this year but Racing Victoria delayed its release to coincide with the findings of a wider review into Melbourne Cup deaths and injuries at the Werribee quarantine facility.


One of the authors of the fatality report, Racing Victoria general manager of veterinary services Grace Forbes, is the regulatory vet responsible for all horses quarantined at Werribee.

Anthony Van Dyck was a star of the Coolmore breeding and racing empire owned by John and Susan Magnier. He is the only Epsom Derby winner to race in Australia and was considered one of O’Brien’s best chances of winning a Melbourne Cup; one of the world’s few great races to elude the record-breaking trainer.

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Jockey Hugh Bowman (in pink) on board Anthony Van Dyck in the Melbourne Cup.
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Mr O’Brien’s son, Joseph, has trained two Melbourne Cup winners.

Coolmore did not respond to questions from The Age. Racing Victoria declined to comment before the release of the fatality report.

The report does not explain why CT scans were not sought after the nerve block was administered on Anthony Van Dyck. CT scans require a light sedation and preclude a horse from racing for five days. Only three internationals were scanned at the Werribee equine centre last spring.

The Cliffsofmoher was euthanised after fracturing his shoulder in the 2018 Melbourne Cup. Like Anthony Van Dyck, he ran strongly in that year’s Caulfield Cup. His death prompted Racing Victoria to introduce mandatory vet checks of international horses before they travel to Australia and inspections by Racing Victoria vets once they arrive, and to invest in the $1.3 million CT scanner.

The latest review into Melbourne Cup deaths is expected to mandate that international horses running in this year’s spring carnival arrive in Werribee a week earlier so that precautionary CT scans can be done on all Cup runners. There is a split between Racing Victoria and the Victorian Racing Club, the organisation which stages the Melbourne Cup, about whether international horses entering the Cup should be allowed to race earlier in the spring.

2014 Melbourne Cup race favourite Admire Rakti died in its stalls in full view of the racegoers.
2014 Melbourne Cup race favourite Admire Rakti died in its stalls in full view of the racegoers.CREDIT:EDDIE JIM

The necropsy of Anthony Van Dyck confirmed the horse shattered his left fetlock in the closing stages of the Melbourne Cup. It supported the decision to euthanise him shortly after the race.

The nerve block was administered to another part of the horse’s body. The report draws no conclusions about whether the horse’s run at Caulfield on October 17 – a fast-finishing second place which elevated him to one of the pre-race favourites for the Melbourne Cup – contributed to the fetlock injury.

Melbourne Equine Veterinary Group partner Rob McInnes said nerve blocks were regularly used on racehorses, particularly in cases where a horse was lame but showed no obvious signs of injury such as tendon heat or swelling.

Anthony Van Dyck euthanised after breaking down during Melbourne Cup
He said the administration of a nerve block on Anthony Van Dyck suggested due diligence on the part of the horse’s treating vet, John Russell.

“These horses are rarely completely sound,” Dr McInnes said. “It is the responsibility of the trainer, the vet and racing authorities to determine the significance of any lameness.”

Dr McInnes said that, although advanced diagnostic tools such as CT scans were not always necessary to determine the extent of a horse’s injury, their use before the Melbourne Cup would improve public confidence in the race.

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Re: Anthony Van Dyck, was lame a month before he broke down in the Melbourne Cu

2 years 11 months ago - 2 years 11 months ago
#817261
Sjoe, seven horses have died in the last seven Melbourne Cups! Eish!


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Last edit: 2 years 11 months ago by Mac.

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