A third Australian Cup winner, Roman Arch, has died in the space of a week following the passing of Vo Rogue and Northerly who both won the Flemington autumn feature twice.
Trainer Robbie Laing who trained Roman Arch to win the 2006 Australian Cup (2000m), said the 13-year-old Archway gelding died on Saturday after picking up an infection in a back leg.
Laing said the horse was based at Pearcedale, near Cranbourne, where Clare Brown had been showing him.
“He had a lovely life and he was going really good at the shows,” Laing said.
“I only found out this morning at the track. Had I known he was sick I would have gone down and visited him.”
Roman Arch won 17 of 94 starts and more than $2.1 million prizemoney.
He was prepared for most of his career by Laing but had a stint with South Australian trainer Mick Whittle and during that period won seven races including the 2003 Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield.
The runner-up in that race was Fields Of Omagh who went on to win the Cox Plate the same year and again in 2006.
Roman Arch lost form and was transferred back to Laing who won six more races with him including the 2005 Group Three Victoria Hcp (1400m), Listed Werribee Cup (2000m) and Group Two Sandown Classic (2400m).
The following autumn he was sent out at 50-1 in the Australian Cup and won for Laing and a new group of owners which included Kevin and Colleen Bamford who part-own 1010 Melbourne Cup winner Americain.
The Melbourne Racing Club will commemorate Vo Rogue and Northerly by naming races in their honour at Wednesday’s Sandown meeting.
Race five on the Lakeside card will be the Vo Rogue Hcp (1200m) and race seven the Northerly Hcp (1400m).
