'This is pretty tough' - leading Melbourne Cup hope ruled out

Loft, a leading fancy for the Lexus Melbourne Cup on November 1 (4.00), has been ruled out of Tuesday's race with a suspected tendon injury.

Racing Victoria vets found an issue with the Marcel Weiss-trained four-year-old when he trotted up on Friday.

Loft was the general 11-2 second favourite behind ante-post market leader Deauville Legend and has been joined on the absentee list by Makram, who failed a CT scan.

"He's got swelling around his tendon and he definitely won't be running on Tuesday," said part-owner Ozzie Kheir about Loft, who won the Group 2 Comer Group International 51st Oleander-Rennen and Belmont Gold Cup Stakes this year.

"That's racing. You've got to take the bad with the good, but this is pretty tough, especially after Le Don De Vie was ruled out earlier in the week.

"I appreciate all the effort to bring a horse of Loft's credentials out here and hopefully he'll recover and he'll be in the field next year. We've still got a minor hope if Interpretation gets in. That could be a silver lining."

The withdrawal of the four-year-old could leave intended rider and last year's winning jockey James McDonald without a ride in the Australian showpiece.

Makram has not been permitted to take part in the Archer Stakes or the Melbourne CupCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

After completing compulsory scans, Racing Victoria reported in a statement that Makram was 'at heightened risk of injury' and therefore not allowed to run in either of the races.

The six-year-old, who had been set to compete in the Archer Stakes on Saturday before running in the Melbourne Cup, had been available at 33-1 with bookmakers.

In a statement on Twitter, owner Lindsay Park said: "Unfortunately Makram is unable to take his place in tomorrow's race or the Melbourne Cup due to an abnormality on the CT scan.

"Connections are very disappointed, but we respect and abide by the RV protocols and at Lindsay Park horse welfare always comes first."

Flemington's meeting on Saturday not only features the Archer, but there are 3 Group 1s on offer including the Victoria Derby, where William Buick will partner the Godolphin-owned Pericles for trainer James Cummings.

Victoria has been hit with lots of rain over the past 48 hours and the ground has been described as heavy by Flemington racecourse manager Liam O'Keeffe, as they prepare for their showpiece event on Tuesday.

"The track has copped a lot of the rain and it has left us on a heavy eight this morning [Friday]. We've had 12.5mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours and on top of that we had 5mm fall earlier on Thursday morning," O'Keeffe said.

"There's a really lush covering of grass, the rail is back in its correct position and all is set up for a good day's racing - albeit rain affected. Today there is 2-3mm forecast which is set to clear through the night. If we can get a little bit of wind in the track, the best case scenario is we come up soft seven in the morning."

Lexus Melbourne Cup (4.00 Flemington, November 1)

Betfair: 3 Deauville Legend, 9 Without A Fight, 12 Gold Trip, Montefilia, 14 Camorra, Duais, Hoo Ya Mal, 16 Emissary, Vow And Declare, Young Werther, 20 bar

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