Yesterday, the 2022 Lexus Melbourne Cup once again ‘stopped,’ not only its home-nation, but held a good few others enthralled too, as the world’s finest two-mile Thoroughbred racehorses battled it out on the gruelling 3,200 metre Lexington racecourse in Melbourne.

Held annually on the first Tuesday of November since 1861, the Melbourne Cup is seen by many as the ultimate test of strength, speed and endurance.

The 2022 edition saw a  total of 186 horses nominated, including 43 internationals, however by the 1st November 2022, the field was down to 24  with only 22 actually entering the start gates as Point Nepean and Lunar Flare retired before the start.

The race was won by Gold Trip, a five-year-old bay stallion from France trained by Ciaron Maher & David Eustace. Sired by the stallion Outstrip, Gold Trip has previously won at Group One level and has amassed an impressive $5,914,914 total in career earnings.

Gold Trip’s jockey Mark Zahra, said, “I feel like crying. It’s unbelievable. What a day. He’s a horse that when you go, you don’t give him a chance to think about it. It’s just elation when I crossed the line. What an amazing feeling.”

In second place, the UK-bred, five-year-old Emissary trained by Michael Moroney. High Emocean romped home in third place, ahead of race favourite Deauville Legend who was fourth. The six-year-old bay Mare from New Zealand is also trained by Ciaron Maher & David Eustace.

For the second year in a row, there were fewer international invitations and entrants, thanks to the newly imposed strict safety standards and veterinary protocols by the Victorian Racing Club (VRC) and Racing Victoria (RV) for horses competing in the Melbourne Cup.

There have been four fatal limb injuries in the Melbourne Cup since 2013. Each was an internationally trained racehorse, travelling to Australia specifically to race in the Melbourne Cup.

According to #kickupforracing, “The rate of fatal limb injuries in the Melbourne Cup is shocking by any standard – and exponentially higher than the annual horseracing fatal limb injury rate in this country.

“Four fatal limb injuries in eight years, from 188 horses that started in those eight Melbourne Cup races, that’s a 2.1% fatality rate, which is over 48 times the rate of fatal limb injuries across Australia in a typical year. In addition, 100% of the fatal limb injuries were suffered by international horses, who represented 41% of the Melbourne Cup starters.”

“This is not just abnormal. It’s monumentally abnormal.”

The recommendations include:

Horses that have had previous major fractures or orthopaedic surgery be excluded from Werribee.
Pre-travel veterinary inspections are performed under raceday conditions.
International horses undergo full body scans (CT where possible) at the expense of connections.
Additional vet RV checks within a week of arriving in quarantine in Australia.
RV vet staff to oversee or provide clinical service at Werribee.
International and local horses must undergo CT scan of limbs before every race start, and those images sent to an RV panel of experts.

Equitrans is the region’s horse shipper of choice when it comes to transporting racing Thoroughbreds and Arabians.

Equitrans offers additional specialist services to cater for the world’s fastest horses, including: additional plane seating for travelling grooms and veterinary personal, plus charter flight options to allow for seamless travel into any event around the globe. Plus our experienced Equitrans team of flying grooms mean each of our horses receives the very best in horse care and arrives performance ready.

To find out more about our horse transport services please email as at: info@equitranslogistics.com

To read more about the fatal limb injuries at the Melbourne Cup visit: here.

Categories: horse transport, Racehorses, Racing

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