3 days ago
Winning horse dies in Epsom tragedy as Kia Joorabchian suffers heartbreak
The Derby meeting got off to a heartbreaking start for football agent Kia Joorabchian when his winning two-year-old horse Norman's Cay suffered a fatal injury.
Amo Racing, known for their big spending in racing, will bid for Derby glory on Saturday when 66-1 chance Tuscan Hill lines up in the £1.5million Epsom Classic. Joorabchian narrowly missed out on winning the race two years ago when King Of Steel claimed second place, and in 2021 when Mojo Star also finished as the runner-up.
Norman's Cay had delivered a statement victory for Joorabchian's Amo Racing team in March by winning the Brocklesby Stakes at Doncaster, marking the first two-year-old race of the British Flat Turf season.
The promising colt lined up on Friday for the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom, starting as an 11-1 chance with Amo's jockey David Egan aboard.
His trainer, Richard Hannon, had been confident that he would run well beforehand, writing in his Unibet blog post: 'We deliberately decided to give him a break after winning the Brocklesby to allow him time to grow and fill out, and he has done really well.
'We were looking at going to Sandown last week, but it was plenty dry enough, and there's a bit of rain forecast on Friday, which we feel will help because he won at Doncaster on Good to Soft. We've won this race with some nice horses down the years, and hopefully this lad is up to that standard, at least.'
Unfortunately, the race did not unfold as hoped for Norman's Cay. He was hampered early on in the race and, after recovering for a comeback with two furlongs left, tragically went wrong one furlong from the finish.
He was taken to a horse ambulance and removed from the track for further assessment by vets, who discovered he had suffered a severe injury.
An Epsom Downs Racecourse spokesperson said: 'Having sustained an injury in the closing stages of the second race on Ladies Day, Norman's Cay was taken back to the racecourse stables for further assessment by our expert veterinary team.
'In their assessment, it was concluded that the best course of action for the horse's welfare was for him to be humanely euthanised. Our heartfelt condolences are with Richard Hannon, his team and all at Amo Racing.'
Amo Racing analyst Charlie Sutton shared his own tribute and commented: 'Very sad to lose Norman's Cay at Epsom today. He was very well cared for at Richard Hannon's during his short career and again by the vets at the track. Can talk about what a nice horse he could've been for the team but ability is irrelevant in these circumstances really.'
