Racing Victoria’s chief equine veterinarian has determined that acute heart failure was the ultimate cause of death for Japanese racehorse Admire Rakti in the minutes after yesterday’s Melbourne Cup.
After conducting a preliminary autopsy at the University of Melbourne, Dr Stewart told SEN Radio [via SMH] this morning that:
“The diagnosis is that the horse died of acute heart failure as a result of ventricular fibrillation probably, which is a disorganised heart rhythm which happens very, very rarely in human athletes and in horses and is a consequence of the athletic heart and the rapid heart rate during racing. It is very rare, but it does occur.”
A second horse, the seven-year-old Araldo, was also euthanised yesterday after breaking a leg when it was reportedly startled by an onlooker (a child, apparently) waving a flag.
The ABC are also reporting that despite the initial diagnosis, a more precise cause of death could be determined over the coming weeks.
Another University of Melbourne vet, Dr Chris Whitton, has also attributed haemorrhaging in the lungs as a possible influencing factor, as “happens in nearly all horses that race to some degree”:
“It’s usually a small amount and of no consequence. But in some horses it happens to a greater degree and very occasionally and very rarely so much that they actually die. And the reason it happens is because horses are pushing themselves to the limit of biology…”
Meanwhile, The Age have Admire Rakti’s jockey Zac Purton on record conveying his grief at the loss of the horse that just two weeks ago he rode to victory at the Caulfield Cup:
“I’m shattered for the horse. He gave me such a great thrill at Caulfield. They don’t deserve this. For this to happen, it’s just not fair. I didn’t think they would beat me. I thought he’d win today.”
Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
