‘Upset’ trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott weigh $2m play for axed Melbourne Cup favourite Sir Delius
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable will gather some more information on the condition of Sir Delius before deciding on whether to press on with his preparation.
Sir Delius was ruled out of the remainder of the Melbourne Spring Carnival by Racing Victoria stewards after the entire underwent scans last week in preparation for the Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 4.
All runners in the Melbourne Cup must present for scans on their distal limbs, which are then viewed by a panel of diagnostic imaging experts.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
The report from those experts based in Australia, the UK and USA were of the view Sir Delius was at a heightened risk of injury.
Sir Delius was high up in markets for both the Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on Saturday and the Melbourne Cup and Bott said it was difficult information to receive about the galloper.
“We’re still in that stage of assessing that information and what it means to his campaign this preparation and future ones and what are the options surrounding that,” Bott said.
“We will gather a bit more information as well and what we do with those decisions and options.
“We do have some great options. Outwardly he seems in great shape. We will process all of that as information comes to hand and we’ll be able to make a decision then.”
Bott said the $2m Five Diamonds (1800m) at Rosehill on November 8 may come under consideration if Sir Delius could continue racing.
Gai Waterhouse had hoped Sir Delius could deliver the first Cox Plate victory of her career. Credit: Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images
“It’s not a given, but if he were to continue racing, then that would be a logical option to come back here for a Five Diamonds race,” Bott said.
“No decisions have been made yet. That information came as a bit of a shock to us. The report has been presented and once we go through that, then we can make that call.”
On Channel 7 Bott noted the Five Diamonds is “worth a good bit of money” but “every decision we make is always with the horse’s best interests in mind”.
Asked how Waterhouse was faring, he said she is “great”.
“She’s obviously upset like everyone but more just feels for the owners,” Bott added.
“It was close, felt like it was in their grasp, and they put a lot into the industry and for everyone it’s a dream, he looked like the horse that could potentially deliver that for them. But she understands very much.”
If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your Cookie Settings.
To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide.
A racing embargo has been placed on Sir Delius in Victoria, and it is up to other racing jurisdictions whether they allow the galloper to race.
Racing NSW chief steward Tom Moxon said he had had communication with RV stewards.
“They haven’t been able to put full consideration into what embargoes are going to be placed on the horse,” Moxon said.
“We will obviously take those into consideration. I don’t know what the plans are with the stable and if they’re looking to run in Sydney, but we will have to consider any embargoes that are put on him by Racing Victoria in respect to veterinary examinations, gallops, trials and matters such as that.
“Until they (RV) consider the matter in full, we can’t really put too much thought into what we do.”
– with 7NEWS
Double trouble as Oscar Piastri suffers nightmare US Grand Prix
3 min read
India address uncertain Virat Kohli situation in last days
2 min read
