There will not be a 13th Melbourne Cup for Bart Cummings with Precedence missing from the latest declarations for the famous race.
The Victoria Racing Club had indicated it would allow the late trainer’s name to appear in the racebook alongside that of his grandson James if Precedence made the field.
But after he finished ninth of 10 in Saturday’s Melbourne Cup, Precedence’s owners made the decision not to press on to the Cup in which he finished sixth last year, his best position in four attempts.
Duncan Ramage, who manages owner Dato Tan’s Australian racing interests, said retirement was imminent but they were hoping for one last hurrah.
“We will see how he is in the next few days,” Ramage said.
“He pulled up well from the race and we are looking at the Sandown Cup as a possible swan song.
“It would be nice to retire him on a strong note rather than off a bad run.
“The Melbourne Cup was just a bridge too far.”
Other notable withdrawals at Monday’s second acceptance stage were Rising Romance, Hauraki, Set Square, Gallante, Magicool and last year’s winner Protectionist who has not won a race since his 2014 triumph.
He came out of the Caulfield Cup with bone bruising and trainer Kris Lees said he believed the firm tracks in Australia were against him.
He will head back to Germany and race again for his Cup-winning trainer Andreas Wohler.
Eleven internationally-trained horses remain in the mix for the Cup.
There are two chances left for horses to force their way in at Flemington on Saturday.
The winners of the Lexus Stakes and Mackinnon Stakes gain automatic starts if they are still among the entries.
As things stood on Monday, the Chris Waller-trained Beaten Up is No.24 in the Cup order and is entered for both qualifying races.
The James Cummings-trained Ruling Dynasty is No.36 in the order and is entered for the Lexus along with stablemate High Midnight who races in Dato Tan’s famous black and white checks.
