Grand Pierro ruled out of Cup, but Sayedaty Sadaty on the brink of 24-horse field

Grand Pierro has become the latest Melbourne Cup contender to be ruled out of Tuesday’s race, with Racing Victoria stewards determining he would not be in a suitable condition to accept for the race.

In an unusual situation, scans picked up that the Jason Warren-trained stayer was at a heightened risk of injury after he was presented to the University of Melbourne Equine Centre for a compulsory Computed Tomography (CT) scan of his distal limbs.

Warren was then offered the opportunity for Grand Pierro to undergo a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan to help determine the status of an area of concern.

As this scan cannot occur until Friday, and the sedation required to undertake the PET scan will still be in the horse’s system on Saturday when final acceptances are taken, it has been ruled that Grand Pierro can not accept for the race.

However, he may still be eligible to compete at the spring carnival should his PET scan be cleared by the three-person panel. Grand Pierro was 31st in the order of entry.

He is the latest contender to be ruled out via the scanning process, including one-time favourite Sir Delius.

Meanwhile, Bendigo Cup winner Sayedaty Sadaty is now on the verge of a Melbourne Cup start despite not receiving an increase in his weight for next Tuesday’s race.

He will stay at 51kg, but a bump in his rating now sees him rise from 35th to 25th in the Melbourne Cup order of entry.

“The performance does not warrant a weight penalty like it did for Sea King last year when he was lifted 0.5kg above the minimum, but Sayedaty Sadaty’s win does warrant an adjustment to his handicap profile, which results in his elevation up the order,” Racing Victoria head of handicapping, David Hegan said.

“He has been moved up to a true weight of 50.5kg in the Melbourne Cup, which is 9kg below the weight-for-age benchmark, but with the weight scale lifted by 1kg this year, he will carry the minimum of 51kg on which he was already handicapped.”

At RV inspections on Thursday, four horses were not passed as suitable to accept and will be re-examined by RV veterinarians prior to final acceptances, Absurde (17th in order of entry), Flatten The Curve (18th), Goodie Two Shoes (21st) and Interpretation (32nd).

Mark Twain, Quietness, Don Diego De Vega, Fernao, So You Are and Star Of India will not be accepting.