Crystal Black withdrawn from Melbourne Cup 2024 contention

Leading Melbourne Cup contender Crystal Black will not travel to Australia after suffering a minor setback. The six-year-old, trained by Ger and Colin Keane, will be given a winter break instead.

Crystal Black emerged as a strong Melbourne Cup prospect after winning the Group 3 Ballyroan Stakes at Leopardstown earlier this year. However, a recent viral infection has caused his blood results to drop, and he is not in his usual form.

Trainer Colin Keane explained, “It’s nothing serious, but you have to go by him and he wouldn’t be ready for it.” Keane added, “You’d have to be pushing him to run in it, so it wouldn’t be the right thing to do and it wouldn’t be fair on the horse.”

Crystal Black will rest over the winter and be assessed for racing next year. “We’ll put him away for the winter and see where we go next year,” Keane concluded.