MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — British-born Australian champion race horse Makybe Diva, who won the Melbourne Cup three times between 2003 and 2005, has died.
Owner Tony Santic said in a statement Saturday that the mare who amassed 14 million Australian dollars ($10 million) in prize money, died at the age of 26 after a brief bout of colic at her retirement stable near Geelong outside Melbourne.
The 3,200-meter (two-mile) Melbourne Cup held annually on the first Tuesday in November is Australia’s most iconic horse race. Celebrated as a public holiday in Victoria state where Flemington race course is located in Melbourne, it is often referred to as the “race that stops a nation.”
Makybe Diva is the only horse to have won the Melbourne Cup three years in a row in a race which was first held in 1861.
Santic, a Croatian-born tuna fisherman from South Australia state, named the horse after the first two letters of his employees’ names — Maureen, Kylie, Belinda, Diane and Vanessa.
“From the day she came into our lives, she was never just a race horse, she was family,” Santic said in the statement. “She gave us moments Australia will never forget, but more than that she gave us joy every single day.”
Australian jockey Glen Boss, who rode Makybe Diva in all three Melbourne Cup victories, spoke about his mount in an interview last year.
“She left a very big footprint in our history, in Australian history, because it doesn’t get much more Australian than the Melbourne Cup,” Boss said.
“I get more emotional about her because at the end of the day she was the one who did all of it, I just had to not disappoint. My job was very simple, just don’t disappoint the athlete, make sure I did the right thing by her and had her in the right spot.”
News of Makybe Diva’s death led to tributes from around the Australian horse racing community, including one from Victorian Racing Club chairman Neil Wilson.
“Makybe Diva was more than a champion — she truly transcended the sport of racing,” Wilson said.
“Her three consecutive Melbourne Cup victories stand among the most iconic achievements in Australian sporting history, and the memories she created will never be forgotten.”
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