Lexus Melbourne Cup favourite Sir Delius has been ruled out of "the race that stops a nation", as well as the Cox Plate, on the grounds of veterinary advice.
Racing Victoria (RV) said in a statement on Friday that the governing body's stewards had "ordered the withdrawal" of the racehorse trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
The five-year-old stallion underwent a CT scan on his limbs at the University of Melbourne Equine Centre, which indicated Sir Delius was at "heightened risk of injury".
The Waterhouse-Bott stable then took the opportunity for their racehorse to undergo a PET scan, but it was determined that the increased injury risk remained.
"Following advice from RV veterinary services in relation to the specialist opinions from the imaging panel, RV stewards have stood down Sir Delius from competing in the remainder of the 2025 Spring Racing Carnival," the RV statement said.
"The stewards have appraised the connections of the key information that they relied upon in making their decision."
Prior to the ruling, Ladbrokes had Sir Delius at $4 to win the Melbourne Cup, ahead of Al Riffa ($8) and Half Yours ($11).
As of 5.15pm AEDT, Ladbrokes had Al Riffa as the favourite at Au$5, ahead of Half Yours (Au$6), Deakin (Au$13), Furthur (Au$13), Vauban (Au$13), Absurde (Au$15) and Valiant King (Au$15).
Sir Delius bolted into outright Melbourne Cup favouritism when he triumphed in a packed field to win the Group 1 Turnbull at Flemington on October 4.
The English-bred galloper beat arguably the best racehorse in Australia, Via Sistina, in claiming victory in the 2000-metre race.
The Melbourne Cup is run over 3200m and the Cox Plate over 2040m.
The Cox Plate will be held at Mooney Valley Racecourse next Saturday, followed by the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday, November 4.
The 2025 Cox Plate has a prize pool of Au$6 million, with first place set to win Au$4 million.
The 2025 Melbourne Cup has a prize pool of Au$10 million, with the winner set to pocket Au$4.5 million.
