Racing:Sans Frontieres has been ruled out of next month's Melbourne Cup after suffering a muscle-related illness. Jeremy Noseda's four-year-old had been one of the leading contenders for the Flemington showpiece after landing the Irish St Leger at the Curragh.
He had been in quarantine for almost a fortnight but will now not travel to Australia. Barry Simpson, racing manager for owner Robert Ogden, said: "He suffered a severe attack of azoturia (muscle stiffness) after he finished work on the (Newmarket) Heath on Tuesday night.
"It's hugely disappointing for Sir Robert and everyone involved. We were all looking forward to having a runner in such a famous and prestigious race."
Simpson added: "It started at 5pm on Tuesday night and the attack was quite severe. We had veterinary people to see him straight away and the view is that he has reacted to the Australian food mix that he has gradually been given.
"It's a massive ask to get a horse to Australia in the first place, so when something like this happens it makes it all the more difficult. It's a bitter pill to swallow at the moment but the decision has been made.
"Azoturia causes muscle damage and that is stopping him working and stopping him going to Australia, but it's not a major problem. It's something that he'll recover from in three to four days, but we can't risk sending the horse on a plane for 28 hours with this hanging over him.
"He was always going to stay in training next year so that's not an issue. We'll just have to see how long it takes for the horse to recover."