Melbourne Cup winner questions Racing Victoria’s vet protocols after import Relentless Voyager was given green light to race in NSW - and Hong Kong
A leading Melbourne Cup contender barred from racing in Victoria will now race in NSW this spring after passing his vet checks “with flying colours”.
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A two-time Melbourne Cup winner has questioned the sustainability of the strict vetting protocols around the famous race, saying it is harder than ever to get a horse into Victoria after one of their leading spring contenders was knocked back despite numerous vets giving him a clean bill of health.
Australian Bloodstock’s Jamie Lovett said Racing Victoria has strayed so far away from what they originally intended with the spring vetting procedures, it is now devaluing the famous Melbourne Cup.
Australian Bloodstock is understood to have paid a substantial sum for European stayer Relentless Voyager earlier this year, who will now race in Sydney for Ciaron Maher after Racing NSW vets ticked him off before going into pre-export quarantine in England on Wednesday night.
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“Racing NSW have a common sense process, you still have to go through some stringent measures, but they are reasonable,” Lovett said, adding that is in full support of increased animal welfare.
“We have now had three vets look at all his images and scans, and he has passed with flying colours.
“Yet RVL’s panel decided he couldn’t go to Melbourne.
“Unfortunately it shows how far RVL have gone.
“The irony of it all is that he is a pass for Hong Kong, which is regarded as one of the strictest, and he is a pass for Sydney.
“He has beautiful limbs, good X-rays, he is sound as a button and never missed a day in his life.
“It shows where RVL are at in regard to their carnival and their once greatest race.”
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Racing Victoria said they “make no apologies” for the hard-line stance, pointing to the last three spring carnivals being conducted “without serious injuries.”
“These high quality diagnostic images are reviewed by a panel of internationally renowned imaging specialists and equine surgeons,” a statement said.
“If the expert panel advise us that a horse is at heightened risk of injury based on its scan results then our veterinary services team, acting on that expert advice, is likely to determine that the horse is unsuitable to travel to the Werribee International Horse Centre.
“We make no apologies for setting a high safety benchmark with our veterinary protocols which were instituted based on industry and community concerns after an unacceptable run of serious injuries, particularly among visiting international horses.”
With Relentless Voyager producing his best performances over 2400m and above, connections purchased the horse with a view of attacking the Melbourne Cup this year while he was well in at the handicap with 51.5kg.
The horse, who has shortened from $101 into $26 in Melbourne Cup markets will not be seen in Victoria this year.
Lovett said Relentless Voyager will go to the $750,000 Rosehill Gold Cup on the Saturday prior to the Melbourne Cup instead.
It is not the first time the same connections have run into a roadblock with Racing Victoria, after Gold Trip was sensationally scratched from the Cox Plate in 2021 despite Maher declaring he was fit.
He returned to Victoria 12 months later to win the Melbourne Cup in 2022.
While Relentless Voyager has a different profile to Gold Trip, Lovett said he would have been a force to be reckoned with should he have made the race.
“He was 100s into 20s for a reason, he is a horse on the up and was terrific at Epsom, he ran very well in the Ebor (Handicap), he profiled like a horse that would come out here and race well,” Lovett said.
Originally published as Melbourne Cup winner questions Racing Victoria’s vet protocols after import Relentless Voyager was given green light to race in NSW - and Hong Kong
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