Champion trainer Gai Waterhouse’s Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot is under specialist vet treatment after a stingray attack when swimming at a Brisbane beach on Tuesday.
The four-year-old, a $5.9 million stake-earner, sustained near foreleg injuries and has been ruled out of a race against the world’s best sprinters at England’s Royal Ascot next month.
She was rushed to a Brisbane vet clinic for specialist care and is being kept under close observation. Connections have flagged the powerful bay is likely to be retired from racing.
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Lady Of Camelot, regularly given ocean wading and swimming, was being prepared for Brisbane’s $1.5 million Doomben 10,000 (1200m) on Saturday when the stingray struck.
“Our mare’s recovery and well-being are absolute priorities,” owner Sir Owen Glenn said. “She has been scratched from the Doomben Ten Thousand and her Royal Ascot trip booking is cancelled. There’ll be an early decision on her racing future.”
Adrian Bott, who is Waterhouse’s co-trainer, said Lady Of Camelot was exercising in shallows at Brisbane’s Nudgee Beach when a sting ray attacked.
“She sustained wounds near joints and was immediately treated by our stable vet,” Bott said. “We then swiftly took her to a specialist clinic where she remains under thorough attention, as vets watch for after-effects and guard against infection.”
Lady Of Camelot ran a close second in Melbourne’s 2024 Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes before she finished fast at Sydney’s Rosehill track to win Australia’s best two-year-old race, the Golden Slipper. She is a highly valued breeding prospect.
Meanwhile, Perth carnival star Overpass’s connections have confirmed he will tackle the King Charles 111 Stakes at Royal Ascot next month. Trained by Sydney-based Bjorn Baker, the sprinter has won two Quokkas and two Winterbottom Stakes on WA raids.
“His travelling experience should be an asset when he is flown to England,” Baker said on Tuesday.
In contrast, other WA carnival winner Rey Magnerio needs a spell. Melbourne trainer Robbie Griffiths said the gelding, a Gold Rush winner and Quokka runner-up on Perth visits this season, had developed leg trouble.
+ Class gallopers Smooth Chino and Western Empire have drawn barriers two and three, respectively, in the $200,000 Belmont Sprint at Saturday’s Belmont Park re-opening.
Austin Galati retains the mount on Smooth Chino, a winner at seven of nine starts. Western Empire, to race first-up on Saturday, has earned $3.4 million.
+ Top WA provincial jockey Tash Faifhfull received a nine-day suspension for causing interference in race three at Kalgoorlie on Sunday. Rosie Mahony (10 days) and Rocky Cheung (14 days) were also hit with careless riding suspensions at WA country meetings on the weekend.
