Tragedy Strikes Boom Victorian Pup

CONNECTIONS of boom puppy Zambora Markie have made the heart-wrenching decision to put the dog down after suffering serious injury in a fall at Sale on Sunday night.

Trained by Wayne Vassallo for New South Wales owner Charlie Azzopardi, the gifted youngster commenced his career with two sublime Warragul 400 metre victories earlier this month, posting stunning times of 22.26 and 22.17 – scoring by an ever widening 10 length margin on both occasions.

But at Sale on Sunday night tragedy struck when the son of in demand sire Zambora Brockie and Zambora Cross was clipped from behind and fell when charging to the lead in a heat of the Rising Stars series as the prohibitive $1.30 favourite.

"We're all pretty flat – it's a very sad day but you have to push ahead as best you can," Vassallo said.

"You could probably run the race another 100 times and that wouldn't happen again. I think he was just going that fast he's cut across too quickly. It was only his third start, he was still learning.

"We had X-rays taken this morning and we were really only left with one option which was to put him to sleep. Where the breaks were in the shoulder were about as bad as they get."

Following two astonishing Warragul performances, Zambora Markie, still only a tender 20 months of age, had the racing world at his feet.

"Since I put him into work he was running times you just don't think are possible," Vassallo said.

"Someone told me those Warragul wins were like the second and third fastest times ever. I've been lucky enough to have some fast dogs over the years but I haven't had one do the things he was doing … especially at the age he was.

"Generally with the young ones that show what he was showing you look for the flaw with them but he looked the full package … temperament and speed, he ticked every box."

In recent weeks, a steady stream of offers for the prodigious talent had been rolling owner Charlie Azzopardi's way, with reports that the most recent of those last week was deep into six-figures.