CANADIAN trained Wild Zone has been forced to miss Thursday's Nunthorpe Stakes at York due to a mix up in travel arrangements.

Mike Doyle, racing manager to owner Mr Stronach, explained yesterday: "Wild Zone was due to leave Canada last night but Air Canada changed the original combi plane (carries passengers and cargo) to another route and the new plane was not a combi so there wasn't any room for the horse.

"We were told on Saturday at 9 a.m. that they had changed the plane and the only choice would have been to come via New York, but it was getting too complicated and it was also going to be too arduous for the horse.

"We might come back for the Haydock Sprint Cup - I kept him eligible for that," Doyle concluded.

. An early morning collision on the Churchill Downs oval on Saturday left two horses dead. Four year old filly Miss Carson and five year old Rare Reason died after a head on collision while training. The incident occurred after part of Miss Carson's equipment broke and she lost her exercise rider.