The Gr 1 eLan Property Group Gold Cup winner Wild One has died following a routine procedure to the check ligament in order to treat tendonitis.

Wild One was standing up after recovering from the procedure when he suffered a heart attack.

Saddened trainer Mike de Kock said, “You think you are doing the best for the horse and then this goes and happens.”

The six-year-old Mogok gelding looked to have plenty of racing still in him. He finished third in the Gr 1 SA Derby as a three-year-old, when trained by Jeff Freedman, and this earned him a place in the Vodacom Durban July. He ended his four-year-old season by winning the Gr 3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup, his first run for the De Kock yard, and then finished third in the Gr 2 Gold Vase and second in the Gold Cup.

However, the Scott Brothers-bred horse appeared to have really come into his own this past season after returning from a long layoff, finishing second in both the Gr 3 Cup Trial over 1800m and in the KZN Million Mile before winning the Gold Cup.

The roller coaster ride owner Sean Phillips has enjoyed with Wild One is well documented and the passing of his beloved horse left the Hillcrest-based man “distraught” at the end of a month in which he had received both the Equus Champion Stayer and KZN Champion Stayer awards.

David Thiselton