Friday, May 01, 2009

Laminitis Tragedy: Australian Champion Mare Sunline Euthanized

by Fran Jurga | 1 May 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

She won two Cox Plates (1999, 2000), two Doncaster Handicaps (1999, 2002), two Coolmore Classics (2000, 2002) and the 2000 Hong Kong Mile; there were a total of 13 Group 1 victories and $11,351,607 in prize money in a 48 start career.

But she couldn't beat laminitis.

The great Australasian race mare Sunline has been battling laminitis for nine months, and every once in a while I'd hear a rallying cry that she was improving, then silence. Today, the Australian press is announcing that US laminitis expert Dr. Ric Redden of Versailles, Kentuckkyk traveled to New Zealand to assist on Monday, but adviced that there was no hope, and the 13-year-old mare has been put to sleep.

Sunline will be buried at Ellerslie racecourse in New Zealand and a memorial will be erected there in her honor.

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