Three-time Melbourne Cup-winning horse Makybe Diva dies at 26

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - British-born Australian champion race horse Makybe Diva, who won the Melbourne Cup three times between 2003 and 2005, has died.

Owner Tony Santic said in a statement Saturday that the mare who amassed 14 million Australian dollars ($10 million) in prize money, died at the age of 26 after a brief bout of colic at her retirement stable near Geelong outside Melbourne.

Santic, a Croatian-born tuna fisherman from South Australia state, named the horse after the first two letters of his employees' names - Maureen, Kylie, Belinda, Diane and Vanessa.

"From the day she came into our lives, she was never just a race horse, she was family," Santic said in the statement. "She gave us moments Australia will never forget, but more than that she gave us joy every single day."

Australian jockey Glen Boss, who rode Makybe Diva in all three Melbourne Cup victories, spoke about his mount in an interview last year.

"She left a very big footprint in our history, in Australian history, because it doesn't get much more Australian than the Melbourne Cup," Boss said.

"I get more emotional about her because at the end of the day she was the one who did all of it, I just had to not disappoint. My job was very simple, just don't disappoint the athlete, make sure I did the right thing by her and had her in the right spot."

The Victoria Racing Club said on social media that "Australia farewells a true legend."