Owner of The Cliffsofmoher Nick Williams says the death of the horse ruins the Melbourne Cup Carnival for him.
The Cliffsofmoher had to be euthanised after suffering a fractured right shoulder during the Melbourne Cup, and Williams has opened up on his emotions during the incident.
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“It destroys it for us,” Williams told SEN’s Whateley.
“The lads that look after the horses and live with them 24/7, they’re absolutely devastated, and I’d have to say no more devastated than us.
“It’s unfortunate when one of these catastrophic events take place. I really don’t know what to say.
“Horse welfare is everything and we pride ourselves on really looking after our horses and to see that happen is absolutely devastating.
“My first thought was please don’t fall and take out others and put human life at risk as well.
“In those events, they can turn into something much worse. Fortunately Ryan Moore did a wonderful job and managed to pull the horse up safely and make sure the horse suffered a minimum of pain.”
Williams also dismissed any fears The Cliffsofmoher wasn’t in a condition to run in the Melbourne Cup.
“That horse was sound as a bell, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
“You think what could we have done, but I keep coming back to the fact that there’s absolutely nothing we could have done because the horse as in absolutely perfect order when he got onto the truck going to the races.”
Listen to Nick Williams’ chat with Gerard Whateley on SEN’s Whateley in the player below