Horse Racing Suffers Loss As Grade 2 Moonee Valley Vase Winner Star of Carrum Passes Away

The year 2023 brought equine deaths in horse racing to the forefront multiple times. While the deaths of horses were always a source of indignation amongst many, last year saw a lot of racing bodies take heat for it. While many argued that the racetracks were unsafe, the investigations conducted didn’t find anything concrete.

The same problem has knocked on the doors of the horse racing world once again right as the new year commenced. This time, a racehorse phenom named Star of Carrum met an untimely demise. In fact, Star of Carrum’s owner said that he was totally fine and wasn’t even doing any heavy-duty tasks. It’s only prudent to etch his legacy upon his passing, so that he’s remembered for posterity.

Another horse racing sensation perishes suddenly

The untoward passing of Star of Carrum occurred in the morning hours of 3 January 2024. According to the owner Robbie Laing, the eight-year-old gelding was engaged in routine track work at Cranbourne at the time of his demise. The horse racing sensation was reportedly doing prep work for the upcoming Adelaide Cup and had also trained safely on the same track on 30 December.

According to a news report by Racing.com, Laing said, “He was only cantering, he went three furlongs and he blundered… He had Sunday off and had a swim yesterday and this morning he was just trotting and cantering… He was beaten 2.3 lengths and was the quickest sectional home (on 30 December), I was rapt and he had pulled up fantastic.”

Star of Carrum participated in Grade 2 horse racing events and wasn’t worked to the extremes. Especially considering that he only won one race in his career, the Grade 2 Moonee Valley Vase back in 2018. The death of someone close hits anyone hard. However, Star of Carrum’s passing is an even sadder affair for Laing, since he was the only yearling he bought in 2017.

The horse who will be fondly remembered

Laing was a syndicate owner of Stars of Carrum, along with several former teammates. Interestingly, the syndication was finalized after the friends reunited at a Carrum Football Club event, which is probably where the horse got its name from. The horse racing sensation initially suffered from two tendon injuries. While this explains why he wasn’t pressured to win, Stars of Carrum earned $729,055 for its owners, anyway.

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Laing also mentioned, “We like the pictures on the wall and we love winning but when they take you Sydney and Queensland as well and win three-quarters of a million… After he was gelded he was a lovely horse anyone could ride him.” While the horse racing sensation has passed away, Laing and his team will surely remember him for years to come.

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