MELBOURNE CUP WINNER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 January 1939, Page 4

MELBOURNE CUP WINNER

NARROWLY ESCAPES DEATH. SHOCK FROM FALLEN POWER LINE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) PALMERSTON NORTH. This Day. Catalogue, the winner of the Melbourne Cup, had a narrow escape from death by electrocution when en route to the Awapuni race track for training operations at 5 a.m. today. He trod on some mud. underneath which was buried a live wire which had been brought down, by last night’s storm. The horse went down like a log. receiving injuries which will prevent him from racing for some time. But for the fact that the .wire carrying 230 volts was partly insulated tinder the layer of mud which concealed it Catalogue would have been immediately electrocuted. Catalogue was thrown right down on his nose by the shock and the boy on him. Bates, took a heavy fall. The horse had a knee of one foreleg cut right through to the bone, a cut on his nose and an injured stifle. He raced a\Vay when he recovered from the shock, but was recaptured and returned to his stable very lame, being in a bad way for a while. Sudan and Brazil were just behind Catalogue when the accident occurred and received slight electric shocks, but other horses entirely escaped.