Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup favourite Sir Delius has sensationally been ruled out of both spring majors after specialist veterinary advice.
Sir Delius, trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, presented this week for compulsory CT scans of its distal limbs.
Racing Victoria announced the shock withdrawal on Friday afternoon.
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An independent three-member panel of diagnostic imaging specialists from Australia, UK and USA reviewed the scans.
The panel advised RV Veterinary Services the CT scan results for Sir Delius indicated “the horse is currently at heightened risk of injury”.
The Waterhouse-Bott stable was afforded an opportunity for Sir Delius to undergo a PET scan to help determine the area of concern.
Sir Delius completed the PET scan on Thursday. The results confirmed the initial CT scan findings — “heightened risk of injury”.
Sir Delius, a multiple Group 1-winning son of Frankel, has been stood down for the remainder of the 2025 spring racing carnival.
It is compulsory under RV’s veterinary protocols for the Melbourne Cup that all horses seeking to be final acceptors must complete a standing CT scan before October 30.
The opportunity for horses to undergo a follow-up PET scan, which shows activity of bone or soft tissue lesions at the molecular level in 3D imagery, was introduced for the first time this year after a successful trial last spring carnival.
RV and Melbourne Cup organisers introduced strict vet protocols in 2021 after a spate of horses being euthanised due to severe injuries sustained in the iconic race.
The Cup has thankfully been catastrophic injury-free the past four years.
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