Distraught trainer Bryce Stanaway says the qualification rules for Victorian jumps races are flawed and contributed to the death of his horse Prince Vitality.Prince Vitality took off too early at the first fence in the King Alfred Steeplechase Prelude (3800m) at Casterton on Sunday, crashed into the live hedge and was later euthanased because of a shoulder injury.Stanaway said he blamed himself for not taking the seven-year-old to Casterton to school before Sunday's race.He said he had to trial

Distraught trainer Bryce Stanaway says the qualification rules for Victorian jumps races are flawed and contributed to the death of his horse Prince Vitality.

Prince Vitality took off too early at the first fence in the King Alfred Steeplechase Prelude (3800m) at Casterton on Sunday, crashed into the live hedge and was later euthanased because of a shoulder injury.

Stanaway said he blamed himself for not taking the seven-year-old to Casterton to school before Sunday's race.

He said he had to trial the gelding over the modular fences at Pakenham in order to qualify him to race over the live hedges at Casterton.

Casterton is the only track in Victoria which still races over live hedges.

The club held its first jumps meeting in 1861 - the same year as the first Melbourne Cup.

"Prince Vitality and any other horse that hadn't schooled at Casterton shouldn't have been allowed to run," Stanaway told Sport 927.

"I blame myself for what happened but I also say RVL (Racing Victoria Limited) haven't helped the situation at all.

"Fancy saying that you can jump modulars which are nowhere near as good as the live hedges at Casterton and you are qualified to race over them.

"I feel if you school over Casterton which has the best fences in Victoria, you should be qualified to race at any jumping track in Australia."

An experienced jumps trainer in New Zealand before moving to Australia, Stanaway was upset and emotional about losing Prince Vitality.

"People don't realise. This is like losing part of my family. This is the best schooled horse I've ever taken to the races," he said.

"He's jumped 44-gallon drums, logs, power poles (and) truck tyres."

Stanaway said another problem he encountered as a trainer was that there are no modular jumps to practice on near his stables at Torquay.

"We can't go in to Geelong. We haven't even got a galloping track there," he said."

Stanaway said rising 12-year-old Elwood, who has been brought out of retirement for a steeplechasing campaign, would probably be retired again as he had to race twice in hurdle races before being eligible to go `chasing due to some "ridiculous rules that are half the problem".

"In New Zealand I've had five and six year-olds who have had the first start in their life in a steeplechase," he said.

"RVL and the (RVL) stewards are telling me I have to go crash through their piddly little speed humps (hurdles) and then teach him to jump nice and clean (over the bigger obstacles) again.

"It'll just about be the finish of me. It's broken our hearts."

The death of Prince Vitality, the second horse fatality in a jumps race so far this season, has been referred to the Jumps Review Panel which meets on Wednesday.