English trainer Hughie Morrison will appeal the Victorian stewards’ decision to bar Marmelo from the Melbourne Cup after the horse failed a veterinary test.
Marmelo, second in last year’s Melbourne Cup to Cross Counter, was ordered out after a CT scan showed he had incomplete fractures in his near fore and off hind cannon bones.
Fellow English visitor, Godolphin’s Charlie Appleby-trained Ispolini, has been taken out of Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup field after also undergoing a standing CT scan at the University of Melbourne Equine Clinic.
Ispolini’s X-ray indicated pre-fracture pathology within the horse’s right front cannon bone.
Morrison said after the ruling on Wednesday night he was exploring ways to fight the decision, saying the stewards’ view of the scan was “inaccurate and unfounded”.
“I’m trying to sort an appeal out,” he told the Press Association.
“It’s not only me this has happened to.”
An RV statement said stewards made the decision in the interests of the safety and well-being of Marmelo, along with his potential competitors and riders.
Under the Melbourne Cup conditions, horses must be considered fit to be able to run if the race was held on Saturday when final acceptances are taken, three days before the $8 million race.
Godolphin will now rely on last year’s winner, the Appleby-trained Cross Counter, after the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Red Galileo was found to be lame after a gallop.
