Racing Victoria (RV) veterinarians have today inspected 25 of the 29 horses that remain in contention for a start in the $8 million Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) to determine their suitability to accept at Saturday’s (30 October) 4.30pm (AEDT) deadline.
A total of 22 horses were passed suitable to accept with three horses to undergo re-examination by RV veterinarians tomorrow.
Spanish Mission (Andrew Balding) will be re-examined after it presented with swelling in its right foreleg. The stable veterinarian has since assessed the horse and no significant abnormality has been detected.
The Chosen One (Baker and Forsman) will be re-examined as a precaution due to mild lameness in its right foreleg. The stable farrier will be attending to the horse in the interim.
Delphi (Anthony and Sam Freedman) will be re-examined after presenting with mild lameness in its left foreleg.
Future Score (Matt Cumani), She’s Ideel (Bjorn Baker), Fun Fact (Bjorn Baker) and Forgot You (Busuttin and Young) will be examined for the first time tomorrow.
RV Stewards were advised today that Hasta La War (Sue Murphy), Mosh Music (Archie Alexander), Constantinople (Aaron Purcell), Tooradin (Maher and Eustace) and Amade (Phillip Stokes) would not be accepting for the Melbourne Cup and thus they were not examined.
A further update will be provided tomorrow (29 October) once all primary and secondary inspections have been completed.
The Melbourne Cup entrants that contest Saturday’s Lexus Hotham Stakes (2500m) at Flemington will be re-examined by RV veterinarians following the race to re-confirm their suitability to accept later that afternoon.
An additional pre-race veterinary inspection of all horses in the final field will be conducted by a panel of RV veterinarians on Monday, 1 November 2021.
The Melbourne Cup will be run at Flemington on Tuesday, 2 November 2021.