St Nicholas Abbey: hugely popular racehorse has died aged seven
PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos), BY TOM KERR3:27PM 14 JAN 2014
In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, owners Coolmore said that the seven-year-old, who suffered a career-ending injury in July, was found to have an inoperable colic and was euthanised.
Coolmore said: “Regretfully St Nicholas Abbey has lost his brave battle after suffering a colic this morning. Surgery revealed a severe strangulating colon torsion that was unviable and he had to be euthanised on humane grounds.
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“This is extremely unfortunate as St Nicholas Abbey had been in terrific form, the laminitis was resolving very well and the fracture had healed better than expected.
“Coolmore would like to thank the surgeons, the international experts and all the staff at Fethard Equine Hospital who gave him such excellent care 24-7.
“We would also like to thank the multitude of well-wishers for all the cards and messages of support for St Nicholas Abbey. He will be buried in the graveyard here at Coolmore.”
Joseph O’Brien, who rode St Nicholas Abbey in his last 12 races, paid tribute.
“He was a horse I’ll never forget. He gave us at Ballydoyle some great days and over a mile and a half, on good ground, he would have given any horse in the world a run for their money,” he said.
“His win in Dubai last year was possibly his best performance and he was probably better than ever last year. But from my point of view winning on him at the Breeders’ Cup [in 2011] was very special. It was my first big win on the world stage and my first big win outside Ireland.
“What happened to him was very sad. Everyone would have liked to see him stand at stud.”
St Nicholas Abbey’s health problems began in July, when he fractured a pastern during a routine piece of work at Ballydoyle. He underwent successful life-saving surgery, during which 20 screws were inserted into his damaged leg, but suffered a major colic setback following the operation.
That was one of several crises to afflict his recovery, which were well-documented through regular press updates from Coolmore. The following month a weight-bearing steel pin in his cannon bone was found to have broken, requiring further surgey to remove it.
In October he developed laminitis in the damaged limb, his left foreleg, an extremely serious complication. Yet the most recent updates from his surgeons were cautiously positive, praising St Nicholas Abbey’s demeanour and reporting progress in his recovery.
Prior to his injury, St Nicholas Abbey had enjoyed a glittering career under the care of trainer Aidan O’Brien, winning six Group 1s and £4,954,590 in prize-money, a substantial figure that made him the highest-earning horse in Ballydoyle history, and one of the most financially successful of all-time.
His first top-tier victory came in the Racing Post Trophy in October 2009. He delivered one of the most impressive performances in recent memory, beating Elusive Pimpernel by almost four lengths and earning short-price quotes for the following year’s Derby.
His three-year-old season proved a blip in an otherwise wildly successful career. He finished sixth as an evens favourite in the 2,000 Guineas and, after suffering a setback during training for the Derby, did not race again that year – a major disappointment, given the sky-high expectations many racing fans had for the Montjeu colt.
However, he returned in a triumphant 2011 to win the Coronation Cup at Epsom and the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs in America. The following March he finished second in the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan, before again winning the Coronation Cup at Epsom.
St Nicholas Abbey’s final two races, in the spring and summer of 2013, saw him go one better and win the Dubai Sheema Classic, before he sealed a stunning hat-trick of Coronation Cup wins with an imperious defeat of Dunaden before a huge Derby-day crowd on Epsom Downs.
fonte: RacingPost
