Roaring Lion team "on tenterhooks" after surgeons in New Zealand save his life

The next 24 hours will be critical for Roaring Lion as he recovers from emergency colic surgery which saved his life in New Zealand on Saturday.

The brilliant grey, owned by Qatar Racing, was one of the stars of last year when he won the Dante, Coral-Eclipse, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. He was also third in the Derby in his only race over a mile and a half and named Cartier Horse of the Year.

Retired to the breeding sheds at the end of last year, his first covering season based at Tweenhills Stud in Gloucestershire passed without incident before he was shipped to New Zealand to cover mares from there and Australia at the renowned Cambridge Stud in Waikato.

There was tremendous demand for his services and Cambridge Stud announced at the end of May that his book was closed. David Redvers, Racing Manager for Sheikh Fahad, had spoken about him “creating a legacy for New Zealand”.

However, his trip to the other side of the world almost ended in disaster.

Released from quarantine at 6am, he had spent just 15 minutes in his paddock at Cambridge Stud when symptoms of colic became apparent.

A news update on the Stud’s website announced he was transferred to Cambridge Equine Hospital immediately and underwent emergency surgery.

It added: “Thanks to the swift actions of the expert veterinary team, the surgery was successful and by mid-afternoon Roaring Lion was in recovery.

“We want to act in the best interests of Sheikh Fahad and our shareholders. Following major surgery, we feel it is appropriate to withdraw the horse from service with all shareholders being fully refunded,” Henry Plumptre, the chief executive said.

“Our best-case scenario is that Roaring Lion makes a full recovery and can be returned safely to the UK. While everyone at Cambridge Stud is shattered, we feel the obligation to Sheikh Fahad, David Redvers and our shareholders is important. It is a massive blow to lose Roaring Lion like this, but his ongoing welfare is now our prime concern.”

Five hours after having surgery, Roaring Lion was said to have made a “favourable recovery”.

Redvers was flying out to New Zealand on Sunday and, en route in Singapore, spoke to Nick Luck on Luck On Sunday to give an update.

"The critical time is the first 48 hours after an operation like this," he said. "He had a small intestine colic, a rare case this particular one, and without going into specifics the reason he is alive now is that they spotted it immediately at Cambridge Stud.

"Our stallion man, Reece Sutcliffe, was out there with the horse and realised immediately something was wrong. They rushed him straight into Cambridge Hospital. Normally with a small intestine twist the horse is dead very quickly if it’s not operated on immediately."

He praised the swift work of experts who performed the surgery and added: “They’ve managed to untwist the section of the gut that was causing the problem, repair a small hole and flush everything through. As long it all still work, which you won’t really discover for 48 hours and we are 24 hours in, then we are hopeful.

“Obviously, if he colics again the news will be very bad. We are all on tenterhooks and I’m flying out to New Zealand as fast as I can get there.”

Only last week, Sea Of Class, a two-time Group 1 winner who was beaten a short neck by Enable in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, lost her life 19 days after undergoing colic surgery.