Admire Deus has been ruled out of the 2017 Caulfield Cup after he suffered a serious injury during a trackwork gallop at Warrnambool this morning.
Australian Bloodstock – who won the Toorak Handicap with Tosen Stardom on Saturday – will not be represented in the Caulfield Cup. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
Admire Deus had impressed onlookers since arriving in Australia and he looked set to head into the 2017 Caulfield Cup as one of the leading contenders, but disaster struck this morning when he broke down.
The Japanese stayer has been sent into emergency surgery and Darren Weir stable representative Jarrod McClean told Racing Pulse that it is still touch and go whether Admire Deus will survive.
“He was out having his final gallop and Johnny Allen came down to partner him,” McLean said.
“There is absolutely no criticism of the club, it is absolutely beautiful surface to gallop on and it’s just one of those things.
“He was working with his mate Burning Front and about 100m out he came to his outside to join him and hopefully run past him and initially it looked like he had broken a leg.
“Johnny had him pulled up quite quickly, but kept him to his feet.
“We were able to get him into the horse ambulance and back to our stables.
“We’ve since had a scan and an X-ray, and there’s no breaks or fractures, but there is fragments of bone.
“On scan, it looks like he’s done the ligaments in the lower part of the suspensory.
“It’s pretty horrible – the pastern joint is close to the ground.
“We’ve made him as comfortable as we can and he’s in the process of being transported to Ballarat for further information.
“As far as rehabilitation goes it’s a horrific injury and I would be surprised if he raced again.”
Admire Deus made his debut in Japan in 2013 and he finished seventh in the Japanese Derby as a three-year-old before he won both the Group 2 Nikkei Shinshu Hai and the Group 2 Nikkei Sho in 2015.
He was purchased by Australian Bloodstock for a Melbourne Cup campaign earlier this year and he finished a close fourth behind Kitasan Black in the Tenno Sho at Kyoto on April 30.
The 2017 Caulfield Cup field was released this morning and only 17 horses are set to contest the Group 1 event at Caulfield on Saturday.
