Saint George out of Melbourne Cup after failing PET scan

Caulfield Cup runner-up Saint George will miss the Melbourne Cup and the remainder of the spring after failing a PET scan despite the Ciaron Maher-trained gelding “initially passing the trot up”.

The seven-year-old had been allocated 55kg and sat 19th in the elimination order at third acceptances on October 26, having earned his place by finishing half a length second to Kingswood in the Caulfield Cup on October 17.

His campaign had already drawn repeated veterinary scrutiny. He needed a race-morning examination after re-plating before he could start at Caulfield, then was re-examined with shoes on before being cleared for the Cox Plate, in which he ran fifth, beaten 2.95 lengths.

Under Racing Victoria’s 2026 protocols, every Melbourne Cup horse must have a standing CT scan of the distal limbs, while a PET scan is not mandatory but can be used after the CT to further assess suitability to race.

Saint George’s withdrawal leaves Maher with seven other horses inside the top 24 as of third acceptances, four of them ballot-exempt: Juja Kibo, Point Of Law, Mr Monaco and Shockletz.