Half Yours (Melbourne Cup winner) dad dies in paddock accident.

[Chief Stipe]

St Jean’s tragic end - Half Yours’ sire dies after paddock accident – The Straight

thestraight.com.au

St Jean, the sire of Melbourne Cup hero Half Yours, has died in a tragic paddock accident just three weeks after the stallion entered Australian racing folklore via his son’s stunning spring crescendo. https://bitofayarn.com

Brackley Park’s Grant Dwyer, who runs the Victorian farm which was home to St Jean since 2017, is mourning the loss of his prized stallion after the horse suffered a fatal leg injury.

Despite providing the best possible veterinary care to St Jean, the studmaster revealed that the 16-year-old was euthanised on Tuesday. https://bitofayarn.com

“After covering a mare, Memory Lane, on Monday the 24th of November, St Jean was returned to be fed in his paddock where he had lived happily and safely since the autumn of 2017,” Dwyer said in a statement.

“On the morning of 25th of November it was discovered that, for reasons unknown, St Jean had run into a fence post overnight, breaking it off at ground level and shattering his near side front leg around the elbow region.”

St Jean, a European-bred son of Teofilo, began his racing career in Ireland in 2012 before being purchased in 2013 by Warrnambool-based trainer Aaron Purcell, who won four races with the stallion. https://bitofayarn.com

He subsequently ended up in New Zealand with trainer Donna Logan, who won a Group 3 City Of Auckland Cup on New Year’s Day 2017 in what would be his second last start. He retired from racing soon after and returned to Australia.

Half Yours was bred by Janice McKenna, the wife of the late Colin McKenna, and was initially trained by co-owner Ciaron Maher.

When McKenna died last year, a number of his horses were sold, including Half Yours, who was bought by trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy for $305,000 via Inglis Digital last November. https://bitofayarn.com

At the time of the sale, he was the winner of two races, a maiden and a Benchmark 64, but in the 12 months since, the McEvoys won six races with him, progressing from a Seymour Benchmark 64 victory to the coveted Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double in the spring.

He was ridden by Jamie Melham in both Cups.

“St Jean was the first Victorian stallion to sire a Melbourne Cup winner since 1973 and his achievement created a real buzz around the Victorian breeding industry,” Dwyer said. https://bitofayarn.com

“His death was very untimely as breeders were only starting to recognise what an incredible pedigree this stallion had. Bookings had started to pick up and he was due to cover a mare by Desert King that afternoon, which would have given the same cross as Half Yours. 

“He was due to cover five mares by Desert King this season and had bookings of 35 mares in total.

“I lament the fact that more breeders did not take the opportunity to breed to this stallion in the first few seasons at stud at an incredibly low price when the opportunity was afforded to them.” https://bitofayarn.com

St Jean, who has two foals and three yearlings as well as five two-year-olds on the ground, had stood for a fee of $3300 (inc GST) in his first eight years at stud until it was increased to $11,000 this year on the back of Half Yours’ rise through the ranks.

[Huey]

Awful luck 

[Shad]

Add another one of the many fallen sires to paddock injury, bloody shame but happens more often than ya think, you won't get any comments from the anti racing crowd, as they only like to emphasize the racing injuries on the track for all to see.