‘Heartbreaking’: Melbourne Cup horse Away He Goes rubbed out after leg injury

One of the favourites for next Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup have been left a devastated after a major blow ahead of the $8m race.

Melbourne Cup contender Away He Goes has been ruled out of the highly-anticipated race after suffering a leg injury.

On Wednesday, it was revealed that the international raider would not feature in the race that stops a nation following the discovery of a minor tendon injury in its right leg.

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The Ismail Mohammed-trained galloper was to be ridden by Sydney champion James McDonald, who only 72 hours earlier had secured the ride.

Away He Goes sat on the fourth line of Melbourne Cup betting markets at $15. The European galloper was runner-up in the Group 1 Goodwood Cup back in July.

“He’s got similar form to Spanish Mission and they’ve given him good raps so we’ll take a line through that,” McDonald said on Tuesday.

“Albeit his winning form isn’t great but I think he looks fantastic from the pictures I’ve seen and I’m looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.

“He looks a nice ride especially with the weight that he’s been allocated. Should be around the mark.”

McDonald also missed the Cox Plate earlier this month after Zaaki was withdrawn.

The #MelbourneCup has lost another runner with Irish import Away He Goes ruled out with injury 🏇 It continues a horror run for champion jockey James McDonald who also missed the Cox Plate after Zaaki was withdrawn #7NEWSpic.twitter.com/lQOVcDk5aF

— John Casey (@JohnCasey2880) October 26, 2021

A leading chance is unfortunately out of the #MelbourneCup with Away He Goes out with a tendon injury.

— Nick Quinn (@Quinny_1) October 26, 2021

Paul Bloodworth, Racing Victoria’s general manager of International and Racing Operations, said it was “really disappointing” development.

“The good news is it’s not a serious injury … it just needs some time to recover,” he told Racing.com.

“If they choose to, the horse could race again later in the year.

“It’s an accumulative injury, so it’s not apparent until it’s apparent … to some extent, it’s a good thing it was picked up so early.

“Six days before the race, it‘s really heartbreaking for them.”

Away He Goes during trackwork at Werribee Racecourse. Brett Holburt/Racing Photos via Getty Images

Following several fatalities in the race in recent years, a strict new system had been introduced in an effort to avoid any horses getting injured or dying in the race.

But those plans have been disrupted after the CT scanner at Werribbee, the machine used to check a horse’s fitness and detect any unknown injuries, broke down.

Only 19 out of the 35 fourth acceptors for the Melbourne Cup had been scanned by the device, meaning 16 of the final acceptors for the race have not yet been examined.

Racing Victoria is working with the manufacturer to find a replacement part for the CT scanner from the US, but there is no guarantee it will arrive in time given the impacts of Covid on international postage.

The timing couldn’t be worse, given the biggest horse race in Australia is scheduled for next Tuesday November 2.

Racing Victoria hopes to have the machine back up and running by Thursday but as a back-up plan, it is requiring the horses who have not yet been examined to present to Werribee’s U-Vet clinic on Tuesday or Wednesday for “comprehensive high-quality X-rays of their distal limbs”.

– with Matthew Sullivan