Derby winner horse, Rochester following a freak accident last Friday has succumbed to injuries as he breathed his last at the Pune Racecourse’s Equine Hospital. Rochester earlier in February this year won the Indian Derby at the Mahalaxmi racecourse. The Derby winner received head injuries after he reared violently and fell backward during early morning exercise at the Pune racecourse. The horse was under the observation of reputed veterinarians like Dr. Phiroz Khambatta, Dr. Pandurang, Dr. Anil Lahane and Dr. Anil Kumar.

“He could not get up on his legs following the fall and was treated at the hospital. But he appeared better on Saturday evening when he got up on his own. He even ate his food. We were delighted to see his recovery but today afternoon he suddenly sat down again and all his parameters started going down fast. He later died around 1.50pm,” Akhtar Peerbhoy, co-owner of Rochester, was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Rochester in 2016 had to undergo an emergency surgery following a colic infection. He eventually delivered his best in February to hand his owners Akhtar Adamji Peerbhoy, Saba Peerbhoy, Pramod Gajanan Churi, Balkrishna R Agarwal and Ajay K Arora their first Indian Derby success.

Rochester ran a total of nine races and won three of them. Besides it, he finished second five times and third on once. Reportedly, the racehorse amassed total stakes of Rs 1,64, 19,296.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 05, 2018 11:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).