Melbourne Cup mayhem as second-favourite scratched

Melbourne Cup betting markets have been thrown into chaos as one of the favourites for the great race was scratched on Friday.

James McDonald rides Melbourne Cup hopeful Loft. Photo by Scott Barbour/Racing Photos via Getty Images.

The second-favourite for the Melbourne Cup, Loft, has been scratched.

It was confirmed on Friday the highly fancied foreign radar has been ruled out after Racing Victoria vets discovered an injured tendon.

Part-owner Ozzie Kheir has told News Corp’s Racing network: “It is disappointing for all the owners.

“I don’t want to be a sook. I am just disappointed for the trainer and the fellow owners – and for racing – as we were very confident he would be hard to beat.

“But there has been swelling around his tendon.

“There is no blue with the (vet) process. It’s been a tough time because we also lost Le Don De Vie from the Cup. But we have had a lot of successes, so it can’t always be smooth sailing.”

The development leaves superstar jockey James McDonald without a ride in the Cup.

It has also caused mayhem in Cup betting markets with Loft sitting on the second line of betting behind Deauville Legend.

The German import was as short as $6.50 with some corporate bookmakers.

The news came through after new bookie Betr on Thursday night was forced to slash its promotional price on the horse trained by German Marcel Weiss as a result of a punter pile-on.

James McDonald at Flemington. Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images.

James McDonald rides Loft for the first time. Photo by Scott Barbour/Racing Photos via Getty Images.

“Due to the unprecedented number of bets placed on Deauville Legend and Loft over the past two weeks, Betr has had to revise the odds on those two runners from $101 to $10, effective immediately,” Betr said on Thursday afternoon.

Betr chairman Matt Tripp said “punters have spoken and put their weight behind these two horses in numbers we’ve never seen before”.

“We will see on the day whether it is more than a two-horse race,” Tripp said.

“The good news for punters is that the $101 odds are still available on all other Melbourne Cup runners.”

It comes a day after vets ruled Caulfield Cup winner Durston out of the Cup.

Chris Waller Racing revealed in a statement the mandatory pre-race scan on Durston showed a “grey area” in the horse’s left hind leg, with specialists yet to determine “whether it is old or new or whether it is even something to be concerned about”.

Bookmakers reacted to the Loft news by making fellow international raider Deauville Legend an even more pronounced Melbourne Cup favourite, at $3.80.

“The vets informed me about an hour ago,” Kheir said, according to The Age.

“It just feels like it’s Marmelo all over again, but this time we’re not blaming anyone. It is what it is.

“We don’t know [when it happened]. It was done anytime between Tuesday and today.

“We lost Le Don De Vie last week, who was already in the Cup, and now Loft three days out, who we were very, very confident would go close to winning, so it’s pretty devastating to lose him this close to the race.”

James McDonald is without a ride. Photo by Scott Barbour/Racing Photos via Getty Images.

Earlier, Durston was also scratched after scans revealed a “grey area” in his left hind leg.

Specialists determined the best course of action would be to rule the Chris Waller-trained horse out of the great race, although they weren’t entirely sure the scan result was anything to be worried about.

Legendary jockey Damien Oliver has therefore been left without a ride for the Melbourne Cup at this stage.

The final field of 24 Melbourne Cup runners will be decided on Saturday night at the Melbourne Cup barrier draw which will take place at the conclusion of the Golden Eagle at Rosehill Gardens.

Updated Melbourne Cup Order of Entry

Horse – trainer – ballot – weight

1. LUNAR FLARE — Grahame Begg — 2 — 51.5kg

2. POINT NEPEAN (IRE) — Robert Hickmott — 3 — 51kg

3. DEAUVILLE LEGEND (IRE) — James Ferguson — 4 — 55kg

4. GOLD TRIP (FR) — Ciaron Maher & David Eustace — 5 — 57.5kg

5. DUAIS — Edward Cummings — 6 — 55.5kg

6. MONTEFILIA — David Payne — 7 — 55.5kg

7. HOO YA MAL (GB) — Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott — 8 — 53.5kg

8. KNIGHTS ORDER (IRE) — Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott — 9 — 55.5kg

9. LOFT (GER) — Marcel Weiss — 10 — 55.5kg

10. WITHOUT A FIGHT (IRE) — Simon & Ed Crisford — 11 — 55.5kg

11. NUMERIAN (IRE) — Annabel Neasham — 12 — 55.5kg

12. CAMORRA (IRE) — Ben & JD Hayes — 13 — 55kg

13. ALEGRON — James Cummings — 14 — 53kg

14. STOCKMAN (NZ) — Joseph Pride — 15 — 54kg

15. YOUNG WERTHER (NZ) — Danny O’Brien — 16 — 54kg

16. VOW AND DECLARE — Danny O’Brien — 17 — 54kg

17. GRAND PROMENADE (GB) — Ciaron Maher & David Eustace — 21 — 53kg

18. TRALEE ROSE (NZ) — Symon Wilde — 22 — 51.5kg

19. DAQIANSWEET JUNIOR (NZ) — Phillip Stokes — 23 — 53kg

20. ARAPAHO (FR) — Bjorn Baker — 25 — 52.5kg

21. CRYSTAL PEGASUS (GB) — Chris Waller — 26 — 52kg

22. SMOKIN’ ROMANS (NZ) — Ciaron Maher & David Eustace — 28 — 51.5kg

23. EMISSARY (GB) — Michael Moroney — 29 — 51.5kg

24. REALM OF FLOWERS — Anthony & Sam Freedman — 30 — 50kg 8.5

25. INTERPRETATION (IRE) — Ciaron Maher & David Eustace — 32 — 50kg

26. MAKRAM (IRE) — Ben & JD Hayes — 33 — 50kg

27. KING OF THE CASTLE (IRE) — Robert Hickmott — 37 — 50kg

28. SERPENTINE (IRE) — Robert Hickmott — 40 — 53.5kg

29. CHAPADA — Michael Moroney — 41 — 52.5kg

30. SAN HUBERTO (IRE) — Matt Cumani — 42 — 51.5kg

31=. HARMYSIAN (GB) — Clayton Douglas — 43= — 50kg

32=. HIGH EMOCEAN (NZ) — Ciaron Maher & David Eustace — 43= — 50kg

33=. SCHABAU (GER) — Robert Hickmott — 43= — 50kg

Originally published as Melbourne Cup mayhem as second-favourite scratched