Vets have sensationally ruled Aidan O’Brien’s Melbourne Cup runner Jan Brueghel out of the big race after he failed a CT scan at Werribee on Saturday morning.
The four-year-old was O’Brien’s only runner in the race and was favourite until Via Sistina’s brilliant performance in the Cox Plate. The lightly raced stayer had four wins from four starts, including the group 1 St Leger Stakes at Doncaster at its most recent start.
Jan Brueghel doing trackwork, ridden by Dean Gallagher, at Werribee earlier this month.Credit: Getty Images
He arrived in Melbourne a fortnight ago to prepare at Werribee for the race.
Coolmore’s Tom Magnier told SEN Track he was extremely disappointed for the staff.
“At the end of the day, at Coolmore the horse comes first; everything about the horse. The decision has been made and that is that,” Magnier said.
“It’s gut-wrenching … I think this horse will have a lot of targets in Hong Kong and all over the world.”
Irish master trainer Aidan O’Brien.Credit: PA
All entrants to the Melbourne Cup must undergo careful testing before being allowed to run, and those examinations became more stringent after a series of runners broke down or died in Australia in the race.
Jan Brueghel had passed the required tests before leaving from Ireland.
O’Brien was critical of those Racing Victorian testing protocols last month when he revealed the horse was waiting for vets to test his Cup hopefuls, Illinois and Jan Brueghel.
“They are all getting scanned over the next while and then they check them, but very few horses pass the criteria, especially young horses,” he told Racing Post in September .
“It’s very difficult for three-year-olds to get through because they are still growing and their bones are still maturing, so I wouldn’t be sure about any of them getting in and being allowed to run. It’s ridiculous really.”
He is not the first trainer to express frustration at the tests imposed on potential runners. In the past, owners and some international trainers have been reluctant to bring their horses to the race because of the strict conditions. But prominent Australian trainers, such as Chris Waller, have backed the moves as necessary to protect the race’s reputation.
Racing Victoria stewards outlined their reasons for the decision in a statement.
“Jan Brueghel was presented at the University of Melbourne Equine Centre in Werribee on Saturday, 26 October for compulsory CT scans of its distal limbs,” the statement said.
“Reports received from an expert panel of internationally renowned equine surgeons and diagnostic imaging specialists, who reviewed Jan Brueghel’s CT scan results, indicate that the horse is currently at heightened risk of injury.
“Following advice from RV Veterinary Services in relation to the specialist opinions from the independent imaging panel, RV stewards ordered the withdrawal of Jan Brueghel from the Melbourne Cup on the basis that he was unsuitable to compete.”
Jan Brueghel worked at Werribee on Sunday morning when connections showed no signs of any doubts he would start.
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