'We won't sacrifice safety for the sake of having a runner' - Racing Victoria responds to Jan Brueghel criticism

Racing Victoria has stressed that “it is a level playing field for everyone” in the wake of Melbourne Cup ante-post favourite Jan Brueghel being withdrawn from the race by stewards.

The St Leger winner’s trainer Aidan O’Brien branded the decision made by the local stewards as “ridiculous” when reacting to the news from Del Mar ahead of the Breeders’ Cup on Tuesday, criticism which did not come as a shock to Racing Victoria’s executive general manager of integrity Jamie Stier.

"I don't think the reaction's necessarily surprising," Stier told Racing.com. “It's always unfortunate to see such a high-quality horse not be able to take their part in the race.

"And that's disappointing not only for the connections and everyone associated with the horse, but also all the fans out there, all the punters, but also for us here at RV.”

O’Brien indicated that Coolmore’s Australian vets did not agree with the Racing Victoria stewards that scans demonstrated his Classic hero was at a heightened risk of injury.

The unbeaten son of Galileo was set to be the Ballydoyle trainer’s first runner in Tuesday’s Flemington showpiece (4.00am) for four years, with O’Brien having deemed the local veterinary checks to be overly strict since the death of his Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck in the 2020 running – in which he also saddled runner-up Tiger Moth.

Stier, who spent eight years working for the BHA, most latterly as the chief regulatory officer before returning to his native Australia to take up his current role in 2018, said: "We go to great lengths to try and get these horses here to Victoria to take part in these races, but we won't sacrifice safety for the sake of having a runner.

"The protocols were put in place to mitigate any risks that we were able to identify with horses who were going to run in the Melbourne Cup. We're following that process through."

The Willie Mullins-trained duo Vauban and Absurde came through veterinary checks for the second successive year at the Melbourne Cup Carnival, while Brian Ellison’s Northumberland Plate winner Onesmoothoperator has also passed the required checks since his Geelong Cup success.

Onesmoothoperator: European challenger has passed his veterinary checksCredit: Reg Ryan (Getty Images)

"People have said that it's not possible for European three-year-olds to meet the protocols, but we've already seen two three-year-olds from Europe run out of Werribee this year.

"For the Melbourne Cup, every horse, every local horse, is required to have a scan. In the past, there's been some adverse findings in relation to local horses.

"Now there has to be a level playing field for everyone. No-one can say a local horse is being treated differently to the international horses.”

O’Brien was critical of the Australian authorities' use of technology and a reliance on phone scans in the process, saying: “The horsemen and women have been taken out of the picture."

However, Stier stressed this was not the only factor when making the decision, saying: “The vets don't make their decision solely based on the video.

“If they look at the succession of videos and they notice a change in the gait of a horse [they'll note it, but] they'll always rely primarily on the visual observations.

“The same app is being used by other PRAs here in Australia and other overseas racing jurisdictions.

"So it's not something that's unique to Racing Victoria, it's something that's widely used by regulatory veterinarians and it's sensible to do so provided it is used as it's intended to be used. I can tell you our vets are using it as it's intended to be used."

Lexus Melbourne Cup (4.00 Flemington, November 5)
Coral: 7-2 Buckaroo, 5 Onesmoothoperator, Vauban, 9 Absurde, 11 Land Legend, 14 Kovalica, 20 Interpretation, 25 Okita Soushi, Zardozi, 33 bar. 

Read this next:

Furious Aidan O'Brien slams decision to remove Jan Brueghel from Melbourne Cup after controversial vets check 

Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.