International hope Defiantly scratched from Melbourne Cup

The horse, trained by Joseph O’Brien, was among the favorites for the prestigious event, having previously secured victory in the Group Two Prix Kergorlay race in Deauville, France, over a distance of 3,000 meters.

Defiantly had been in quarantine at Werribee, Australia, and initially failed an inspection on Thursday. A subsequent re-evaluation occurred Saturday morning.

“In the opinion of the veterinarians, Defiantly remains unsuitable to accept for the Melbourne Cup and has been withdrawn from the race by order of the stewards acting on veterinary advice,” Racing Victoria announced.

This withdrawal potentially opens the door for another horse trained by Joseph O’Brien, Kizlyar, to participate in the race.

While Defiantly was ruled out, two other international horses, Enfjaar and Wine Dark Sea, who had previously faced setbacks in initial assessments, successfully passed Saturday’s inspection and are cleared to compete.

Defiantly marks the second international entry to be withdrawn from this year’s Melbourne Cup. Previously, Japanese horse Stinger Glass was removed due to scans indicating a heightened risk of injury.

Another horse, Saint George, trained by Ciaron Maher, was also withdrawn after scans revealed a similar risk. Saint George had finished second in the Caulfield Cup two weeks ago and fifth in the Cox Plate last weekend.

These veterinary protocols, including scans and inspections, are designed to assess the suitability of each horse for the Melbourne Cup field.

The final field will be confirmed at 4:30pm AEDT, with the Melbourne Cup draw to follow at 5:30pm AEDT.