A spokesperson for Crystal Ocean’s owner, Sir Evelyn De Rothschild, said he was hopeful that the horse would make a full recovery, added;
At this stage the vet sees no problem at all in him heading to stud, but it is early days. -Spokesperson for Evelyn De Rothschild
News of Crystal Ocean’s injury came as a shock to many in the horse racing world and is a blow to punters who regularly backed the Bay Colt. In 17 races, Crystal Ocean was placed in all of them, winning 8, finishing second on seven occasions and third twice to record a career win rate of 47.06%. The horse last ran on the 21st August, ridden by James Doyle and finished second to Japan over 10 furlongs and was priced @ 11/1.
Crystal Ocean’s first race was in September 2016 at Newbury over 7 furlongs and was ridden by R L Moore and came second. Moore, however, rode the horse to victory in each of the subsequent seven times he raced him. Claiming wins at Nottingham (10f 22/4/2017), Goodwood (11f 5/8/2017, Sandown (9f 26/4/2018), Newbury (12f 19/5/2018), Ascot (11f 23/6/2018), Sandown (9f 26/4/2019) and Newbury (12f 18/5/2019). Other jockeys to ride Crystal Ocean to victory are Ted Durcan and L Dettori.
Trainer Sir Michael Stoute is likely to feel Crystal Ocean’s absence. The Barbadian British thoroughbred horse trainer became an assistant to Pat Rohan in 1964 before setting up his stable in 1972, the same year as his first winner Sandal won at Newmarket. Despite winning several high-profile races such as Breeders Cup, the Japan Cup and the Hong Kong Vase, Stoute’s current win rate on the Flat is just 26.91%, which is a lot lower than Crystal Ocean’s career win rate of 47.06%.
