Defiantly ruled out of Melbourne Cup after veterinary inspection — ABC News Australia

In Australia, Defiantly, one of the leading international contenders to win the Melbourne Cup, has been barred from competing after a veterinary inspection. As ABC News reports, the decision was made on Saturday following a repeat examination of the animal.

Repeat examination did not change the decision

Defiantly is trained by Joseph O'Brien. The horse arrived in Australia and was in quarantine in Werribee. It did not pass an initial veterinary inspection on Thursday and was examined again on Saturday morning.

Racing Victoria said that, in the veterinarians' opinion, Defiantly is still not fit to compete in the Melbourne Cup. Stewards withdrew the horse from the race on veterinary advice.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Changes to the field

The absence of Defiantly is likely to open a place in the starting field for another Joseph O'Brien horse, Kizlyar. Defiantly had previously been considered one of the race favourites for a long time: it won the Group Two Prix Kergorlay over 3,000 metres in Deauville, France.

Two other international runners, Enfjaar and Wine Dark Sea, also failed their initial inspections, but successfully completed their final examination on Saturday and were cleared to compete in Tuesday's race. Japanese horse Stinger Glass was previously withdrawn because of an elevated injury risk detected by computed tomography and positron emission tomography. Saint George, trained by Ciaron Maher, was excluded from the field for the same reason.

The final Melbourne Cup field is due to be confirmed later on Saturday, with the draw to take place an hour afterwards.