It was a terrible loss for owners Wayne and Karen Stewart, managers of the White Robe Lodge Stud, North Taieri.
"We found her unsettled in the paddock on Saturday morning and got the vet to her straight away, but she never responded to treatment," Wayne Stewart said.
"We have done an autopsy and she had a massive rupture of the bowel."
Royal Flight was retired to stud in the spring after winning nine races, including the listed Great Easter Handicap at Riccarton in April. The Stewarts had raced the Danzighill-Capital Flight mare with the Lucky 8 syndicate.
She was runner-up at group three level in the Cuddle Stakes (1600m) at Trentham, the Easter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton and third in the Winter Cup (1600m) and Tauranga Classic last season.
She amassed $145,113 in stakes when trained by Brian and Shane Anderton.
Royal Flight was back at White Robe six weeks after being flown to Australia in September to be mated with Encosta De Lago. He is the sire of 19 individual group one winners including Princess Coup. He stands at a fee of $A110,000 ($NZ142,845) at Coolmore stud in the Hunter Valley.
"Mares like her [Royal Flight] are too expensive for us to buy and you only get them if you breed and then race them," Stewart said.
Capital Flight produced a filly by Raise The Flag this spring and the Stewarts have her daughter by Yamanin Vital, Flight Arrival. She is in foal to Raise The Flag.
The Anderton stable has Inferno in the Gore Cup on Saturday.
"If she performs well she will go on to the Wellington Cup," Shane Anderton said.
Inferno was narrowly beaten by Fellini in the Clare Memorial Cup at Omakau at her last start.
Trainer Michael Pitman said he would start Borninthestates and Sun Valley in the Gore Cup.
The pair were scratched from the Greymouth Cup on Saturday due to the heavy track.
Borninthestates will be on trial for the Wellington Cup. He ran second to Megapins in the 2009 Wellington Cup and fifth in the 2011 race. The 9yr-old ran second to stablemate Peyow Peyow in the Tapanui Cup at Gore in December.
Sun Valley has won at Washdyke, Waikouaiti and Kumara in her last three starts.
• Chris Johnson is under suspension until midnight on Monday after withdrawing an appeal.
The Judicial Control Authority confirmed that Johnson had withdrawn the appeal on the day it was lodged. He had been granted a stay of proceedings which enabled him to ride at West Coast meetings.
The appeal was in regard to careless riding at the Kurow meeting on December 30. The suspension subsequently came into effect after the Greymouth meeting on Saturday.
• Glen Boss has taken two rides at Sandown tomorrow for his return to race riding after being sidelined for four months with a shoulder injury, AAP reports.
Boss (42) shattered his left shoulder and tore ligaments and tendons when 2010 Golden Slipper winner Crystal Lily collapsed and died in a Flemington jumpout on September 23.
The triple Melbourne Cup-winning jockey has a metal plate and 10 screws inserted in his shoulder.
"This was a lot worse injury than the one in Macau," Boss said, comparing it to the race fall he had nearly 10 years ago when he sustained two breaks in his neck.
"I've been doing physio for three months and working with my personal trainer for six weeks bar a week off with the family over Christmas. I've been back riding track work and trials for three weeks." He will ride Josimar and Meaisin tomorrow. Boss has won 74 group one races.
