Champion Australian racehorse Makybe Diva has died, aged 26.
The three-time Melbourne Cup winner passed away on Saturday morning following a sudden and short colic attack, a gastrointestinal issue in horses.
Makybe Diva remains the only horse in history to have won three consecutive Melbourne Cups, which she did between 2003-2005.
In that three-year period of complete dominance, she also won the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Sydney Cup, the Australian Cup, the BMW Stakes, the Memsie Stakes, the Turnbull Stakes, and the Cox Plate.
“We will never see another like her 💜,” Australian jockey Craig Newitt said.
David Hall trained the legendary stayer to her 2003 Melbourne Cup win before the Freedman brothers took over and saluted again in 2004 and 2005.
Glenn Boss formed an iconic partnership with Makybe Diva, riding her in all three of the Cup victories and for her 2005 Cox Plate win.
Owner Tony Santic retired the mare immediately after she won her third and final race that stops a nation in 2005.
She had been living peacefully in retirement at Santic’s property in Gnarwarre near Geelong when she died.
“From the day she came into our lives, she was never just a racehorse, she was family,” Santic said in a statement.
“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.”
She netted $14.5 million in prize money throughout her career and was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2006.
Makybe Diva took her unusual name from the first two letters of five of Santic’s employees: Maureen, Kylie, Belinda, Diane and Vanessa.
Victoria Racing Club chairman Neil Wilson was among those to pay tribute following news of her death.
“Makybe Diva was more than a champion, she truly transcended the sport of racing,” he said.
“Her three consecutive Melbourne Cup victories stand among the most iconic achievements in Australian sporting history, and the memories she created will never be forgotten.”
– With AAP
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