Count Chivas, the winner of the 1996 Sydney Cup and close to $2 million in stake money, has died from a twisted bowel.
The 9-year-old gelding was in work on trainer John Boon's Waverley property in readiness for another possible campaign.
"He had just finished a morning workout and was having a roll, which he loved to do, but he didn't get up," said Havelock North breeder and co-owner Richard Wood.
A vet was called but the horse was in such pain he had to be put down.
Wood bred Count Chivas out of Imposing mare Inquisit. The horse was raced by his wife, Ingrid, in partnership with Sydney-based Nick Tsalikis.
- NZPA
Racing: Sydney Cup winner dies
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