Deakin will not take his place in this year’s Melbourne Cup after failing a mandatory veterinary scan earlier this week.
The Phillip Stokes-trained, OTI Racing-owned import had secured his golden ticket into the famous race after winning the Listed Roy Higgins Quality in March, guaranteeing him a spot in the Cup field. Stokes subsequently mapped out an entire spring campaign aimed squarely at peaking on the first Tuesday in November.
However, after finishing eighth in last week’s Caulfield Cup, Deakin was sent for precautionary PET scans that revealed issues in his fetlocks, forcing his withdrawal from the 3200-metre classic.
“It’s very unfortunate,” Stokes told racing.com from Sale. “We did a PET scan the other night and they got the results back. He’s just got changes in his fetlocks.
“It’s just not going to happen this year unfortunately, but we’ve still got a horse. He’ll have a good spell, and he’ll come back bigger and better. I feel very sorry for the connections — there’s been a lot of work going into this from our stable staff and Shae, who’s been riding him.
“We’ll put the horse first and he’ll reward us.”
Deakin’s absence is a blow to OTI’s spring ambitions, but the promising stayer — who has continued to improve since arriving in Australia — is expected to be back targeting feature staying events next year.
