Saturday ninth of June was a tragic day for everyone at Yarraman Park with the devastating loss of our magnificent young stallion Catbird.
Catbird had been struggling since he badly injured his leg in January and after a colic operation in May he developed laminitis and his pedal bone started to drop.
That he managed with his injury for so long and never showed any type of bad temperament was a wonderful testimony to the marvellous disposition Catbird had and that he has passed on to his stock.
To lose such a handsome and successful stallion as Catbird at such an early stage of his stud career is a tragedy, as we at Yarraman believe he was in an upward spiral to the top of the sires list with an outstanding book of mares in foal to him and another high class book of mares booked to him this year.
For Ken Jones, his family and Merlyn Connolly Mr Jones’s outstanding manager the loss is indescribable and very very sad. They bought Catbird as a yearling and shared the enormous pleasure of winning the Golden Slipper, while on his way to becoming the champion two year old of Australia.
Peter Gorman our Veterinarian and Brent Davenport our stud manager have both worked beyond the call of duty trying to save Catbird. From the middle of January to last Saturday they made bandage changes and treatments early every morning and late every evening not to mention the care given in between.
Our blacksmith Joel Stewart had a major role in making special shoes and advising on his feet as did John Whitely who advised and helped us with the Kentucky connection of Dr Rick Redden. Also thanks to Paddy Toddhunter for his help and advice.
Everybody connected with this lovely horse could not have tried or worked harder to save him. We know in all our minds that everything possible was done and sadly sometimes everything is not enough.
Arthur Mitchell
