THE perfect start to the 2010 jumps racing season ended yesterday at Warrnambool when the John Wheeler-trained hurdler Sirrocean Storm was put down after an incident during the running of the Galleywood Hurdle, reports The Age.It says: The six-year-old gelding dragged his hind legs through the third hurdle of the event, injuring one of his legs. Jockey Gavin Bedggood eased the horse out of the race shortly after landing and Sirrocean Storm was loaded into an equine ambulance soon after.Australia

THE perfect start to the 2010 jumps racing season ended yesterday at Warrnambool when the John Wheeler-trained hurdler Sirrocean Storm was put down after an incident during the running of the Galleywood Hurdle, reports The Age.

It says: The six-year-old gelding dragged his hind legs through the third hurdle of the event, injuring one of his legs. Jockey Gavin Bedggood eased the horse out of the race shortly after landing and Sirrocean Storm was loaded into an equine ambulance soon after.

Australian Jumps Racing Association president Rodney Rae said the fatality was regrettable and unfortunate but was a reminder that injuries and fatalities in horse racing were inevitable.

"There's no beating around the bush, this was a fatality in a jumps race, but the situation is that in horse racing, whether we are talking about flat racing or jumps racing, there are always going to be injuries and fatalities. We are committed to doing all we can to reduce injuries and deaths but anyone who thinks that there won't be incidents is completely unrealistic," he said.