To address various enquiries related to the stable of Michael Freedman, the Club wishes to issue the following statement:

Several horses in training under the care of trainer Michael Freedman were injured while exercising within a horse walker, a common piece of training equipment used in stabling complexes worldwide, on Tuesday afternoon (5 September). From eyewitness accounts it appears one horse became unexpectedly agitated and suddenly reversed course, beginning to gallop inside the horse walker at high speed. This triggered a similar reaction from the other eight horses exercising in the horse walker at the time.

While the power to the horse walker, designed to gently guide horses in either direction, was cut soon after the first horse triggered the incident, the natural strength and athleticism of the horses kept the walker going for several minutes before the horses slowed of their own accord.

The horses were treated immediately by the veterinarians on-site. Eight of the nine horses will require approximate rest periods ranging from one week to three months. The Owners of the affected horses were notified on Tuesday. Unfortunately, following a subsequent veterinary assessment on Wednesday, one of the horses was unable to be saved due to the nature of the injury sustained.

At this time the primary interest of the Club is the ongoing care of the injured horses. We will  maintain a close dialogue with the Owners and continue to work with Michael Freedman and his staff to understand the cause of the incident and whether any actions can be taken to avoid such an event occurring in future.