The trainer of Melbourne Cup runner Tralee Rose says her injuries appear to be superficial, after the mare was galloped on during yesterday’s race.
Tralee Rose finished ninth behind Verry Elleegant, but had to be sedated and taken to hospital at Werribee immediately after the race.
The five-year-old mare, who won the Geelong Cup last month, was kept overnight for observation.
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Trainer Symon Wilde has told SEN Radio, it appears Tralee Rose has escaped serious injury.
“She was galloped on, I’m not sure what part of the race it was, but she had a fair laceration on her hind leg when she came back to scale,” he said.
“We had it checked by the vets at Flemington, they wrapped it up and sedated her. We took her to Werribee as a precaution, thankfully there’s no serious damage, it looks to be at this stage superficial.
“She was stitched up last night, hopefully if everything is OK we can go and pick her up this afternoon.”
Wilde conceded that he initially feared the injury was much more severe.
“The preparation went so well with her, it was almost too good to be true, when you see that sort of injury, it probably looked worse than it was, so it was a pretty nervous wait,” he said.
“Once she was sedated they could check it properly, very relieving to hear that it looks to be superficial, which is just fantastic.
“She’ll be able to hopefully go on as normal and we’ll pick some more aims for her.”
Owner Peter Fitzgerald said after the race that Tralee Rose was brave in adversity.
“The winner was magnificent and is a champion but we just wonder where would we have finished if (Tralee Rose) was okay,” he explained.
“It is gut-wrenching, she gave her all. She would have been running under duress and pain and everyone is a bit deflated.”
Horse safety has been an issue in recent Melbourne Cups, with Anthony Van Dyck euthanised after last year’s race after breaking his leg in the run.
Anthony Van Dyck was the seventh horse to die since 2013.
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