Racing Victoria's Integrity Services manager, Jamie Stier, isn’t concerned about the increasing fatality rates in the Melbourne Cup in the wake of The Cliffsofmoher's death.
The Irish horse was euthanised after sustaining a shoulder injury early in the 3200m race at Flemington - becoming the fifth horse to be put down in the last six Melbourne Cups.
Stier praised Racing Victoria's veterinary team for the way they handled the tragic incident involving The Cliffsofmoher.
“No, I’m not worried (about trend of Melbourne Cup fatalities),” Stier told SEN’s Whateley.
“I’m confident that we have the right resources in place to address the risks that confront us.
“I think that’s one thing may well be lost on several people out there, is that the manner in which yesterday’s incident was dealt with.
“We have a highly skilled expert team at Racing Victoria led by Grace Forbes, and I think the manner in which they dealt with The Cliffsofmoher incident yesterday in front of a big field, and a big field of people as well is to their credit.”
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Racing Victoria will conduct a review into the fatality rates that have occurred throughout the spring carnival, according to Stier.
“We’ll do our fatality review,” Stier said.
“We look at all the circumstances surrounding each fatality, and often they’re very different.
“But regardless of that we’ll continue to strive and identify any risks that we’re aware of, to minimise those as part of our overall look at the carnival.
“But equally importantly, we’re away from the Melbourne Cup itself, looking at the overall welfare of our horses.”
Listen to James Stier’s chat on SEN’s Whateley with Gerard Whateley in the player below