Melbourne Cup favourite Sir Delius has been ruled out of the famous race, and next week’s Cox Plate, by Racing Victoria (RV) stewards.

The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained five-year-old won the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes earlier two weeks ago and was primed for a run at the Cox Plate-Melbourne Cup double.

But Sir Delius has now become the first major contender to fall foul of RV’s strict vet protocols, with a panel determining scans showed a “heightened risk of injury”.

“Given the imaging panel’s advice, in accordance with RV’s enhanced 2025 veterinary protocols, the Waterhouse-Bott stable was afforded the opportunity for Sir Delius to undergo a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan which can help determine the status of an area of concern,” the governing body added.

“Sir Deliu

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