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| Staff Writer |
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Last year's Derby at Epsom was won effortlessly by Desert Crown, but unfortunately, he had to be put down due to the injury he sustained while galloping in August. Sir Michael Stoute's sixth winner of the blue riband Classic only had one more run after his victory in June.
Unfortunately, he was unable to run last season due to a setback, and although he participated in this year's Brigadier Gerard Stakes, he lost his undefeated record to Hukum.
Moreover, he missed the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes due to a minor setback, but he endured a much more severe one while being prepared for the Juddmonte International at York.
Tragically, Desert Crown fractured a fetlock, and despite initial hopes that he could recover and go on to have a stud career, he lost his battle on Monday at the Newmarket Equine Hospital.
“There’s not a lot to say other than it is just very, very sad,” said Philip Robinson, assistant racing manager to owner Saeed Suhail.
“Everything was done to try and save him, we thought he was making progress but then he just started going backwards.
“With a severe injury like that there is a lot of pressure with the weight of the animal standing on it, but we really thought he was going to get there and it’s very sad he didn’t make it.
“You can try and help them with supports for the leg but at the end of the day they’ve got to be able to stand on their own.
“He had the best available treatment anywhere in the world, if he couldn’t be saved here then he couldn’t be saved anywhere.
“He was a fantastic horse and his Derby win was an incredible day that we’ll never forget.”