Aidan O'Brien eyes Hong Kong trip for Jan Brueghel

The Galileo colt was the ante-post favourite to provide his trainer with a first victory in Tuesday’s Flemington showpiece, having extended his unbeaten record to four in last month’s Betfred-sponsored Doncaster Classic.

But the three-year-old’s participation has been scuppered following a routine veterinary inspection that has become mandatory for all entrants.

O’Brien was in California on Tuesday morning to see his Breeders’ Cup contenders, including Classic contender City Of Troy, get a taste of the track at Del Mar for the first time and was clearly unhappy with Racing Victoria’s decision.

“Everything was perfect with him, he went through all the hoops and scans. Our vets were happy, but the Australian vets were not happy with them,” said the Ballydoyle handler.

“It’s easy to say now, but we thought he was a massive handicap blot as a classy, unbeaten horse with 8st 7lb to carry and Ryan Moore riding him.

“We will go for the race in Hong Kong now. Most scans are open to opinion, they gave him another in the last few days and found a shadow on the hind leg, but with all horses you can get shadows.

“Everything was properly done with the horse and it’s all getting a little bit ridiculous.”

A statement from Racing Victoria said: “Racing Victoria stewards, acting on specialist veterinary advice, have today withdrawn Jan Brueghel from the entries for the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup to be run at Flemington next Tuesday, November 5.

“In accordance with the conditions of the race, Jan Brueghel was presented at the University of Melbourne Equine Centre in Werribee on Saturday, October 26 for compulsory CT scans of its distal limbs.

“Reports received from an expert panel of internationally renowned equine surgeons and diagnostic imaging specialists, who reviewed Jan Brueghel’s CT scan results, indicate that the horse is currently at heightened risk of injury.

“Following advice from RV Veterinary Services in relation to the specialist opinions from the independent imaging panel, RV Stewards ordered the withdrawal of Jan Brueghel from the Melbourne Cup on the basis that he was unsuitable to compete.”