6 Nov 2017

Who Shot Thebarman out of Melbourne Cup

10:06 am on 6 November 2017

The New Zealand owned horse Who Shot Thebarman has been scratched from the Melbourne Cup.

Who Shot Thebarman was due to lineup in his fourth consecutive Melbourne Cup but trainer Chris Waller says the horse has a high temperature.

"It is obviously of great disappointment to the owners, my staff and I, however the welfare of the horse comes first and for that reason he must be scratched from Tuesday's race."

Waller said Who Shot Thebarman had pleased him during the week and had showed no signs of ill effect following his win in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup.

Who Shot Thebarman

Who Shot Thebarman Photo: Supplied

Who Shot Thebarman finished third in the Cup in 2014, 11th in 2015 and fifth last year.

No nine-year-old horse has won the Melbourne Cup, which was first held in 1861.

The New Zealand bred and owned Who Shot Thebarman has run in three Melbourne Cups with his best finish third in 2014.

He is the second New Zealand horse ruled out of the Cup.

The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Jon Snow was found to be lame.

With no emergencies the Cup field has now been reduced to 23.

Meanwhile Frankie Dettori will look to end 25 years of Melbourne Cup frustration when the flamboyant jockey rides last year's winner and favourite Almandin in the $6.6 million race.

The 46-year-old Italian has won virtually every trophy of significance in thoroughbred racing but victory in the Melbourne Cup at Flemmington has proved elusive.

Dettori made his Cup debut with a ninth place finish on Drum Taps back in 1993 and has only two placings from his 15 campaigns, second place on Dynamite in the 2015 running his most recent near-miss.

Dettori gets his chance on Almandin with Australian jockey and three-time Cup winner Damien Oliver losing his ride on the race favourite after being

suspended for 20 races.

"Obviously I am very grateful that I have the ride on Almandin, although it was in difficult circumstances. I am very sad for Damien Oliver," Dettori wrote on line.

Dettori's CV notwithstanding, history is against German-bred Almandin's bid for back-to-back wins.

Only four horses have achieved the feat in the race's 156-year history, with the great Makybe Diva the last with a hat-trick of trophies from 2003-05.

Long shots have often raced away with the prize, including Prince of Penzance which defied 100-1 odds in the 2015 running and made jockey Michelle Payne the first woman to ride a Cup winner.

Italian jockey Frankie Dettori.

Italian jockey Frankie Dettori. Photo: Photosport

Dettori will also be up against a raft of top quality foreign-trained entrants including the Aidan O'Brien-prepared Johannes Vermeer, a 10-1 shot.

Irish master trainer O'Brien has enjoyed a stellar year and set a world record for top-level wins when Saxon Warrior won the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster last month.

There will be a battle for bragging rights in the O'Brien family, though, with Aidan's son Joseph preparing entrants US Army Ranger and Rekindling.

Darren Weir-trained Humidor is the top-rated locally-prepared contender after impressing in a runner-up finish behind champion sprinter Winx at the leadup Cox Plate.