One of the greats of New Zealand horse racing, Verry Elleegant, has died suddenly while giving birth to her first foal in France.

The Melbourne Cup winner, who was bred and still part-owned in New Zealand, passed away today (NZT).

Verry Elleegant had been in Europe for about 18 months after travelling to France to be trained by Francis-Henri Graffard.

After four winless runs, she was retired from racing with connections selecting the superstar stallion Sea The Stars as her first suitor.

She was due to foal in the first week of February.

Verry Elleegant won 16 races, with 11 of them at Group 1 level for earnings of nearly $15 million.

She won the 2020 Caulfield Cup and the 2021 Melbourne Cup and was named the Australasian racehorse of the year for 2020/21.

She started her career in New Zealand with South Auckland trainer Nick Bishara but was soon attracting interest from Australian owners.

A 50 per cent share of Verry Elleegant was purchased in 2018 by a group of Australian owners that included Ozzie Kheir and Brae Sokolski.

She was initially trained in Australia by Darren Weir for her first campaign with the mare being sent to Chris Waller following Weir’s disqualification in early 2019.

“It is incredibly sad that we pass on the news on behalf of the ownership group that Verry Elleegant has passed away due to complications giving birth to her foal,” Waller said in a statement.

“The news is just filtering through to stable staff now and other close connections who are coming to terms with the tragic news. She was in fantastic hands on a farm who did all they could for her, and we would like to thank them for their efforts which we will be forever grateful for.

“We all saw the courage she had on the racetrack over many seasons, and she will never be forgotten by those close to her as well as the wider racing public who followed her careered and loved her so much.”

— Racing.com.