Tributes flow after Cup champion Verry Elleegant dies in Ireland

Verry Elleegant, the New Zealand-bred mare who became a bona fide superstar of the Australian turf, has died in Ireland.

One of racing’s great rags-to-riches stories as a daughter of unheralded Kiwi sire Zed, Verry Elleegant died while giving birth to a foal by champion Irish stallion Sea The Stars.

Verry Elleegant was residing at Norelands, a famous stud farm in the county of Kilkenny.

Her foal could not be saved in a double blow to the mare’s Australian connections.

“I was looking forward to this foal, the generations ahead and the legacy you get from breeding with a champion,” part-owner Brae Sokolski told SEN.

“Unfortunately that is all lost and now all we have is memories.”

In a stunning career on the racetrack, Verry Elleegant claimed the 2021 Melbourne Cup and 2020 Caulfield Cup among 11 Group 1 wins in Australia under Sydney trainer Chris Waller.

She was named Australia’s Racehorse Of The Year for 2020/21 before being sent overseas to race from the French stable of Francis-Henri Graffard.

Verry Elleegant raced four times in the northern hemisphere without reaching the heights she attained in Australia and was retired to stud last year.

“It is incredibly sad that we pass on the news on behalf of the ownership group that Verry Elleegant has passed away due to complications giving birth to her foal,” Waller said in a statement.

“The news is just filtering through to stable staff now and other close connections who are coming to terms with the tragic news. 

“She was in fantastic hands on a farm who did all they could for her, and we would like to thank them for their efforts which we will be forever grateful for.

“We all saw the courage she had on the racetrack over many seasons, and she will never be forgotten by those close to her as well as the wider racing public who followed her career and loved her so much.”

‘Tough and spirited’ – how Verry Elleegant rose to greatness and rewrote Australian racing history

Bren O’Brien reflects on the numbers behind the incredible racing career of Verry Elleegant, Chris Waller’s champion race mare who has died when foaling in Ireland.

The StraightBren O’Brien

Verry Elleegant started her racing career in New Zealand and she soon attracted the interest of Australian bloodstock agents.

She found her way briefly into the stable of Victorian trainer Darren Weir for a spring campaign in 2019, winning the Ethereal Stakes before unplaced runs in the Wakeful Stakes and VRC Oaks.

When Weir was banned from training, Verry Elleegant was transferred to Waller, breaking through at Group 1 level in the Vinery Stud Stakes before winning the ATC Australian Oaks during the 2019 Sydney autumn carnival.

Verry Elleegant raced 42 times for 16 wins and 12 placings and amassed almost $15 million in prize money.

“We all saw the courage she had on the racetrack over many seasons, and she will never be forgotten by those close to her as well as the wider racing public who followed her career and loved her so much” – Chris Waller on champion mare Verry Elleegant

James McDonald rode her in 11 of those victories and the champion jockey said he would be forever grateful for a history-making association.

“I don’t really get too emotional, but it actually bought a little tear to my eye, I had a pretty big soft spot (for her). She arguably gave me my greatest day on a race track in my life,” he said.

“So for her to be gone so early, it’s really, really sad.

“She was such a great horse and she wore her heart on her sleeve every time she put her foot on a racetrack, whether it was trackwork, trials, or racedays.

“She just gave her all, she was an incredible racemare. Just gone too early.

“She is the special one. Any horse that can win our greatest race on turf in Australia is a special horse.”

The Australian Turf Club only recently announced that the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes, to be run at Randwick on March 2, would be renamed the Verry Elleegant Stakes.