A bout of colic has claimed the life of three-time Melbourne Cup Champion Makybe Diva.
One of the Legends of the Australian turf has died.
Three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva died on Saturday following a battle with colic.
Makybe Diva remains the only horse to win three successive Melbourne Cups in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and after her third, owner Tony Santic immediately announced her retirement from the racetrack.
Makybe Diva was named Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year for her deeds in 2005, winning the Australian Cup, BMW Stakes, Memsie Stakes, Turnbull Stakes, Cox Plate, culminating in the Melbourne Cup.
She entered the Australian Racing Hall of Fame the following year and was afforded Legend Status in 2010.
Makybe Diva started her racing career with David Hall before transferring to Lee Freedman when Hall left for Hong Kong to take up a training career and won 15 of her 36 starts and $14.5 million in prize money.
“From the day she came into our lives, she was never just a racehorse she was family,” Santic said.
“She gave us moments Australia will never forget, but more than that, she gave us joy every single day.
“She was loved from the beginning, and she stayed loved for her whole life.”
Unfortunately, the progeny of Makybe Diva could not live up to her deeds on the racetrack and following the mare’s retirement from breeding, Makybe Diva lived out her life at Santic’s farm near Geelong.
