Tributes for fastest-ever Caulfield Cup winner Diatribe

Diatribe, the George Hanlon-trained stayer who won the 2000 Caulfield Cup in record time, has died just a couple of weeks shy of his 30th birthday at the farm where he enjoyed a long retirement.

The son of Brief Truce, who won the 2000 Rosehill Guineas, delivered a memorable victory in the Caulfield Cup, with Jim Cassidy guiding him home in 2 minutes 25.32 seconds, a track record which still stands to this day.

He was bred and raced by John Thompson and won five of his 33 starts, including victories in the AAMI Vase and the Bulls Tutt Stakes. He also ran second in the 2000 Cox Plate behind Sunline and third in the VRC Derby.

He spent eight seasons at stud, producing 69 winners including multiple stakes winner Fibrillation.

Kate Curran, whose family have cared for Diatribe in his retirement at Coronet Farm, confirmed his death on the Racehorse Australia Facebook page.

“Passed away peacefully in his paddock that he lived out his retirement in. Still the record holder of the fastest Caulfield Cup winner and a much-loved horse till the end,” she wrote.