A moment of joy quickly turned to tragedy when the winner of the Red Tempo Handicap, Beltrois, had to be humanely put down, soon after breaking a leg, within a few metres of passing the winning post.

It was a eerie feeling that greeted the minor place getters as they returned to scale, the winner was missing, he had won, he had given his all, but at what price?.

A crowd gathered to view the stricken animal as he hobbled about on three legs, not fully aware of his ultimate end I turned my back, I had seen it all so many times before in a long career.

Beltrois was having his first start since Oaks Day last year; he had won five races and seven placings from 23 starts.

He was owned and bred by the Griffiths family; their good friend, Don Healy, also had a share in the gelding by Bel Esprit.

The only bright note on a very ordinary day was jockey, Ryan Maloney, the rider of Beltrois, did not sustain any serious injury in the incident.

Beltrois's game win