Truck accident claims lives of three well-bred Shadwell fillies in Australia

Three regally bred fillies owned by Shadwell were among four horses who died in a truck accident near Lindsay Park in Victoria, Australia, on Monday in a scene that the establishment's co-trainer Tom Dabernig described as devastating.

The life of another unnamed mare also could not be saved, while a fifth horse, the Bjorn Baker-trained Hybrid Theory – a daughter of Brazen Beau who ran at Caulfield on Saturday – was taken to a veterinary clinic in Euroa and escaped relatively unscathed.

The three named fillies who died in the incident, all southern hemisphere three-year-olds, had modest race records but held significant breeding value on the strength of their pedigrees.

Aladaala was by champion sire Redoute's Choice and a half-sister to Listed winner and Australian Derby third Kingdoms; Hafaawa was a Redoute's Choice half-sister to multiple South African Group 1 winner Soqrat; and Maktabba was by Per Incanto out of a Redoute's Choice daughter of Listed scorer Warm Smytzer.

Aladaala and Hafaawa had won races, while Maktabba had run placed. The fillies were reportedly being transported to Yarraman Park Stud in the Hunter Valley to be mated.

"It wasn't pleasant but it was one of those times when everyone involved pulled together in an emergency situation," Dabernig said of the accident.

"Luckily there wasn't another vehicle involved and the driver was emotionally upset, but otherwise okay. I'm not sure how the accident happened, but the truck somehow rolled.

"We had three vets on site, the CFA [a volunteer-based fire service], police and they had to cut the roof off the truck to get the horses out. It was quite a scene."

Shadwell have enjoyed significant success as an owner and breeder in Australia, with Hamdan Al Maktoum having campaigned two Melbourne Cup winners in At Talaq and Jeune among other big-race successes.

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