Gallant ten year old Red Cadeaux is waiting surgery at the University Of Melbourne Equine Centre at Werribee after sustaining a fracture to his left fore fetlock joint during the running of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington yesterday.
Red Cadeaux is cleared of life threatening injuries he suffered in the Melbourne Cup. Photo by Taron Clarke.
French jockey Gerald Mosse was forced to pulled up the English stayer at the 200m mark in the straight when the gelding suffered the injury.
The situation looked dreadful immediately after the race with English trainer Ed Dunlop fearing the worst but Red Cadeaux’s injury is not life threatening after being diagnosed with a fracture to the medial sesamoid in the fetlock.
“When I was on the grass at the 100m mark I thought I wouldn’t see him alive again. So he’s alive and well,” Dunlop said.
“When we drove here (to Werribee) I wasn’t expecting as encouraging news with that injury.
“He’s eating grass … and he looks happy, he has fluids. It’s a bad injury, but it should be repairable.
“We’ve discussed three or four times we were going to retire him and we haven’t retired him. All seemed very well with him but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.
“I thought he was going to be put down. At this stage he hasn’t.”
“He was obviously immediately retired. If the guys do their job, he’ll have a very happy retirement.”
Dunlop’s travelling foreman Robin Trevor-Jones has reported this morning that Red Cadeaux will not be undergoing immediate surgery and has his leg in a splint and is comfortable.
Australian racegoers had adopted Red Cadeaux as almost one of the family following his six visits to Australia which resulted in three runner up placings in the Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) in 2011, 2013 and 2014 as well as being placed second in the Group 1 $4m Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick during this year’s Sydney Autumn Carnival.
Local jockey Michelle Payne created history by being the first female jockey to ride the winner of the Melbourne Cup when she steered the Darren Weir trained Prince Of Penzance to a half a length victory yesterday.
Red Cadeaux retires with seven wins from fifty-four starts and has earned over $8 million dollars in prizemoney.
