John O'Shea and Tom Charlton-trained Athabascan scratched from Melbourne Cup after irregular heartbeat discovery
Updated . First published
Six-year-old gelding Athabascan is the first confirmed scratching of the Melbourne Cup Racing Victoria stewards have announced on the eve of the event.
The John O'Shea and Tom Charlton-trained horse was examined by Racing Victoria veterinarians on Monday as part of the second round of pre-race inspections.
The vets found the horse had a cardiac arrhythmia, known as an irregular heartbeat.
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Athabascan's diagnosis came from blood tests, which were examined by three independent experts.
Athabascan has been scratched from the Melbourne Cup. Getty
Vets advised stewards the horse was at risk of a cardiac episode.
The six-year-old was originally drawn at barrier two and won its last start at Randwick in October.
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OTI director Terry Henderson reveals the reaction has been felt throughout the camp, leaving the syndicate with Sea King the only runner to contest the Cup today.
"Gutting, there is no other way to describe it," he tells Racing.com.
"Our owners have really looked forward to this, basically since the Sydney Cup earlier this year where he ran so well. It was really devastating news.
"You just feel for the owners so much in a situation like this. All the hype has been there and all of a sudden it just goes 'poof'."
The rest of the field has been given a full bill of health ahead of the $8.56 million race.