Sir Delius will not contest this Saturday’s Craven Plate at Randwick, with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott electing to spell the imported stallion.
The five-year-old son of Frankel was nominated for the $750,000 Group 3 contest after he was last week sensationally ruled out of the Victorian Spring Carnival by Racing Victoria stewards following irregular results from the Melbourne Cup scanning process.
The Tulloch Lodge co-trainers kept their options open by nominating for this weekend’s 1800-metre event, but Waterhouse announced on social media on Wednesday morning that the decision had been made to spell Sir Delius with an eye to the Autumn Carnival.
“After discussing Sir Delius with the ownership group, Adrian and I have made the decision to spell him and set our sights on the autumn carnival,” Waterhouse said on X.
“He’s an extremely valuable horse and one we firmly believe will continue to prove he’s the best weight-for-age performer in Australia.
‘Bring on the $5mil. Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.'”
Sir Delius was favourite for both this Saturday’s $6m Cox Plate (2040m) and Tuesday week’s $10m Melbourne Cup after Group 1 wins in the Underwood Stakes (1800m) and Turnbull Stakes (2000m), but was last Friday ruled ineligible for the remainder of the Victorian Spring Carnival.
As part of the process to accept for the Melbourne Cup, Sir Delius needed to undertake CT (Computed Tomography) scans of his distal limbs.
Those scans, reviewed by a panel of diagnostic imaging specialists comprising representatives from Australia, the UK, and the USA, determined Sir Delius was at a heightened risk of injury.
Waterhouse and Bott were offered the opportunity of a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan on Sir Delius, which can help determine the status of an area of concern.
Those scans, taken last Thursday, were again sent off to members of the imaging specialists, who advised RV Veterinary Services they remained of the view Sir Delius was currently at a heightened risk of injury.
His non-acceptance in the Craven Plate has left Lindermann a raging favourite for the race, which has attracted a field of eight.