Burnstone Passes Away After Suspected Heart Attack

2015 Blue Diamond Stakes contender Burnstone has passed away after suffering a heart attack during trackwork at Cranbourne this morning.

Burnstone made his racing debut with a most impressive victory in the 2015 Blue Diamond Preview. Photo by: Adrienne Bicknell

Burnstone made his racing debut with a most impressive victory in the 2015 Blue Diamond Preview. Photo by: Adrienne Bicknell

Burnstone was doing a light piece of work at Cranbourne and impressed trainer Robbie Griffiths with the way that he worked, but collapsed and died from what appears to have been a sudden heart attack.

The Redoute’s Choice colt stamped himself as a horse to watch when he recorded a dominant three and a half lengths victory in the Listed Blue Diamond Preview For Colts And Geldings (1000m) at Sandown on January 26 and Griffiths was clearly devastated to lose the horse that he thought was capable of delivering him a maiden win at Group 1 level in the Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield on February 28.

“Why a fit, young colt who was trotting and cantering and had come through his run (Blue Diamond Preview) incredibly well would have a heart attack, I don’t know,” Griffiths told TVN.

“It doesn’t make sense, but these things never do.

“He was jumping out of his skin, he was just trotting and cantering then fell over and died.

“I’d never been so confident heading into a Diamond.

“He just came through his run so well.

“It’s an amazing emotional roller-coaster this business.

“You think what a fairy tale story, we’d found a horse with a stallion’s pedigree for $40,000.

“He’d won his first start so well, we’re looking like we’re a big chance in the Diamond and the ride lasted just a second.

“We don’t even get the chance to have little Burnstones.

“To just take it off you like that, it doesn’t seem fair and it seems very cruel.”

Burnstone was purchased for just $40,000 despite his strong pedigree because he was a windsucker, but that did not prove to be a problem for the son of Redoute’s Choice when he stormed home in the final stages of the Blue Diamond Preview and had his Blue Diamond Stakes odds slashed.

Griffiths still has Single Note, Sogno D’Oro, Believing, New York Celebrity and Deja Blue in the 2015 Blue Diamond Stakes entries and he is hoping to have his first runner in the race since Confederate Kid finished ninth behind Redoute’s Choice, Testa Rossa and Dangerous in the 1999 edition of the race.

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Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.