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| Staff Writer |
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Prince of Arran has been retired, denied his opportunity for a fairytale victory in this year's $8m Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) with the globetrotter failing new stringent pre-travel veterinary tests.
Trainer Charlie Fellowes was preparing Prince of Arran for his fourth consecutive Melbourne Cup appearance after three successive placings in Australia's greatest race.
Prince of Arran's racetrack farewell cannot be classed as an 'early retirement', he raced 49 times since making his debut a 2YO in July 2015, but the horse didn't exactly retire on the terms of connections.
Prince of Arran, aged eight, resumed in the Gr.3 September Stakes (2413m) at Kempton on Saturday. He was unsuited by the sit-sprint tempo of the race, finishing last of five starters beaten 4.25 lengths by the winner Hamish.
In past years, this would be deemed an adequate performance ahead of a Melbourne voyage but times have changed with form no longer the only consideration.
Connections of European-based horses seeking to travel on the first shipment, entering quarantine at Newmarket from Thursday, and compete during the upcoming Melbourne Spring Carnival were due to be informed of pre-travel veterinary test results no later than last Thursday (September 2).
The pre-travel veterinary testing included the much-publicized full body scintigraphy and CT/MRI of distal limbs at the expense of Prince of Arran's connections.
The tests were examined by a three-man panel of equine surgeons and diagnostic imaging specialists sourced by Racing Victoria to provide their opinion on the suitability of each horse competing in the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
The panelists' views were considered by Racing Victoria's veterinary team who then decide to permit or reject horses from traveling to Melbourne via Werribee's International Horse Centre.
Racing Victoria has stated they would not publicly advise whether horses had passed or failed the veterinary assessment, the governing body allowing connections of respective horses to make the verdict public if they desired.
Speculation has swirled since the deadline that Prince of Arran had failed. Ultimately, Prince of Arran's status meant his absence from Melbourne this spring was always going to be noticed, particularly with quarantine for travelling horses and staff starting within days.