In yet another blow for the connections of Muramasa, the horse has officially come out of Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup 2024 field after failing a vet’s check.
The Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young-trained horse was a Caulfield Cup scratching due to the rain-affected track and then lost his Melbourne Cup jockey Daniel Moor to suspension.
Tyler Schiller was called upon to replace Moor aboard the five-year-old Deep Impact gelding in the Group 1 $8.56 million Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) on November 5, but he is now without a ride following Thursday’s news that Muramasa and his stablemate Brayden Star have both come out.
Muramasa, last seen running third in the Ladbrokes Geelong Cup behind the Brian Ellison-trained Onesmoothoperator, was around $41 in the Melbourne Cup betting markets at Ladbrokes.com.au at the time of his withdrawal.
Brayden Star was 26th on the Melbourne Cup ballot sweating on a start but was also a confirmed non-runner on vet’s advice after their CT scans revealed both horses were at “heightened risk of injury” if they were to run in the two-mile showdown.
“In accordance with the conditions of the race, Brayden Star and Muramasa were presented at the University of Melbourne Equine Centre in Werribee on Monday, 28 October for compulsory CT scans of their distal limbs,” a statement on the Racing Victoria site confirmed.
“Reports received from an expert of internationally renowned equine surgeons and diagnostic imaging specialists, who reviewed Brayden Star and Muramasa’s CT scan results, indicate that both horses are currently at heightened risk of injury.”
The attrition rate now sees another New Zealand horse make the starting line-up in the ‘Race That Stops a Nation’ with trainers Bruce Wallace & Grant Cooksley in with a shot or preparing this year’s Melbourne Cup winner with Trust In You now 24th on the order of entry.
Mark Du Plessis, having his sixth Melbourne Cup ride, has been confirmed for the 50kg light weight at triple-figure odds for an upset.
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