SCORPION (Ire) (Montjeu [Ire]) has been withdrawn from the Melbourne Cup
(Aus-G1) on November 6 after pulling up lame following a searching gallop at
Sandown Monday.
“He’s lame, very lame in the off-hind leg,” trainer Aidan O’Brien said. “The
X-rays have shown nothing, but he has suffered ligament damage.”
O’Brien, alerted to Scorpion’s injury while waiting for a connecting flight
at Los Angeles airport on Monday night, arrived in Melbourne Tuesday and took
less than 15 minutes to make a decision.
“It’s hard — obviously we were really looking forward to racing this horse,”
O’Brien said.
The five-year-old is now likely to be retired. Scorpion, hero of the Grand
Prix de Paris (Fr-G1) and the St. Leger S. (Eng-G1) at three, captured the
Coronation Cup (Eng-G1) in June and most recently ran second to stablemate Yeats
(Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) in the Irish St. Leger S. (Ire-G1) on September 15.
Ballydoyle’s Cup hopes now rest with MAHLER (Galileo [Ire]), the first
European three-year-old to attempt the Flemington feature. Produced by a full
sister to Group 1 stakes winner Footstepsinthesand (GB), the bay colt is one of
the most lightly raced horses to contest the Melbourne Cup, with just six starts
under his belt. He most recently ran second in the St. Leger S. (Ire-G1) on
September 15 at Doncaster.
Fellow European raider PURPLE MOON (Galileo [Ire]) impressed trainer Luca
Cumani in his last serious gallop before the Cup at Flemington on Tuesday. With
jockey Damien Oliver in the saddle, the four-year-old was timed in 1:04 for 1000
meters, clocking :23 4/5 for his last 400. The chestnut sat two lengths off his
galloping partner Navigate from the 1400-meter mark, picking up his mate rapidly
in the straight and powering clear by 10 lengths.
“I didn’t want him to do too much, and he did it in hand,” Cumani reported.
The Victoria Derby (Aus-G1) winner EFFICIENT (Zabeel) was another whose work
was eye-catching, although he has been off the board in four outings, this
campaign including a ninth in the Cox Plate (Aus-G1) on October 27. The gray
worked 1000 meters in 1:03.90, getting 22.78 for his final 400 meters.