Trainer Sheila Laxon has revealed that an overly cautious approach led to defending Melbourne Cup hero Knight’s Choice being scratched from Saturday’s Group 1 Underwood Stakes at Caulfield.
The shock 2024 Cup winner at $101 was scheduled to take his second-up run as part of his preparation for another tilt at the $10 million Flemington feature. However, Laxon and training partner John Symons made the late decision to withdraw him when several horses at their Mt Macedon base presented with elevated temperatures.
Laxon reported on Sunday that Knight’s Choice was back to normal and showing no signs of illness, with Racing Victoria vets conducting precautionary blood tests. “His temperature was slightly elevated the morning before the races and we didn’t know why it was high but he’s all good now,” she said. “Because we didn’t know what it was, we didn’t want to risk anything. We’ve had bloods taken off him and we will get the results in the next few days. I am sure we were being overly cautious but with a horse like him we wouldn’t ever be pushing the boundaries. He’s eaten up and everything, so I think we just panicked.”
It is believed a handful of other horses at the Macedon training complex have also shown elevated temperatures in recent days. Despite the setback, Laxon remains confident in the Cup champion’s fitness. “He does so much work here and that’s the fantastic thing about Macedon,” she said. “We’ve got the hill working again that we used to use back in the early 2000s and it gets them nice and fit. We had a program planned out for him but it included that race yesterday, so we’ve got to review the other options we have now.”
Knight’s Choice will continue his build-up towards defending his Melbourne Cup crown, with punters able to follow his path through Australia’s top betting sites.
