PROMINENT Sydney racehorse owner Les Samba has been shot dead in a Melbourne bayside street while visiting the state for the yearling sales.
NEWS Limited newspapers are reporting that Victorian police are hunting a gunman believed to be aged in his 30s. No motive has been established for the death.
Samba, a former South Australian trainer, was a well-known Sydney-based thoroughbred owner and had raced many horses with accused murderer, Ron Medich.
Medich, a Sydney property developer, was charged last October with the September 2009 murder of his estranged business associate Michael McGurk..NSW Police confirmed Samba was spoken to as part of their investigation into the murder of McGurk, gunned down outside his Cremorne home in September 2009.
Samba was regarded as one of the nation's finest judges of racehorses and selected and purchased many outstanding gallopers including Shogun Lodge, Thorn Park, Flying Pegasus, Gorky Park, and Guillotine.
Samba was registered as a part-owner with Medich of a number of top Sydney racehorses currently in training including Sea Lord, Defiant Dame and Winter King.
Samba's daughter Victoria is the estranged wife of leading Melbourne jockey Danny Nikolic.
"It’s a huge shock," Danny Nikolic told the Daily Telegraph.
More recently, Samba owned Defiant Dame, who won the Gimrack Stakes at Randwick last October.
Talk of Samba's death dominated discussion on the opening day of the yearling sales at Oakland Junction.
Early in his career, Samba strapped Rain Lover when it won the 1969 Melbourne Cup.
David Hayes, who trained Gorky Park, said he's been told of Samba's death. "Les was a good guy, a character,'' Hayes said.
During the 1980s, Samba was linked to flamboyant Perth trainer George Way, who was disqualified for life after two horses trained by him returned a positive swab to Etorphine, more commonly known as elephant juice.
Ambulance spokesman Paul Bentley said paramedics were called to the scene of the shooting at 9.40pm.
"The first crew arrived within eight minutes and confirmed a man was shot in the upper body and was dead," he said.
Michael Quill, who was on the scene just minutes after the shooting, said he saw the victim was lying face down in blood.
"When we saw him he was in a pool of blood and he was completely lifeless," Mr Quill said.
"I heard a doctor on the scene saying that he thought the man was about 50 and that there was blood coming from his head."
STORY SOURCE: SYDNEY DAILY TELEGRAPH AND MELBOURNE HERALD SUN – NEWS LIMITED.
