Marmelo owners set to take legal action following Melbourne Cup controversy

The owners of last year's Melbourne Cup second Marmelo are set to take legal action against Racing Victoria after their star stayer was ordered to be withdrawn from Tuesday’s race by stewards on veterinary advice.

Part-owners Aziz Kheir and John O’Neill are taking legal advice after Racing Victoria vets informed stewards that Marmelo has an incomplete fracture of his near-fore cannonbone and off-hind cannonbone following a standing CT scan.

The interpretation of those results, which led to Marmelo’s withdrawal on Wednesday and were taken from a new A$1.27m (£680,000/€780,000) standing CT scanner at the University of Melbourne's equine clinic, have been strongly refuted by Morrison, who along with jockey Hugh Bowman was happy with the six-year-old after he galloped with fellow Cup contender Raymond Tusk at Werribee on Tuesday.

Melbourne Cup card

Marmelo has not missed a day's training in Melbourne, taking in a light canter on Thursday, as did Ispolini, who was also withdrawn by stewards due to indications of pre-fracture pathology in the horse's cannonbone according to Racing Victoria vets.

Morrison said on Thursday: “I certainly think our owners should take legal action. Their incorrect scan interpretations have cost us a huge amount of money and effort.

“There must be some sort of appeal system otherwise Jamie Stier [Racing Victoria's head of integrity], Grace Forbes [Racing Victoria's chief vet] and the stewards are a law unto themselves.

“We love this horse so would never put him at risk if we felt there was an issue. We don’t accept he has an incomplete fracture – he wouldn’t be able to walk around the yard, let alone canter like he did this morning, if that was the case.”

Hughie Morrison: 'We would never put Marmelo at risk if we felt there was an issue'Credit: Edward Whitaker

Kheir, who is drafting a letter to Victoria's racing minister Martin Pakula, promised to donate any money earned from legal action to charity.

He told The Age: "I will issue proceedings after I get further advice but my initial advice is I have a damages claim. If I win I will donate every cent to charity, including horse welfare. This is not about money, it's about principle and being treated as a serious participant in racing. I don't want any other owner to go through what we've been through."

Stier believes the state’s governing body make judgements without “fear or favour”.

He told RSN: “We have tried to address issues after last year’s race and we're unapologetic in our concern for the welfare of the horse and riders. The Melbourne Cup puts an added pressure but the stewards and veterinary surgeons are required to make judgements on a daily basis and they do so without fear or favour. They carry out responsibilities very seriously.”

The Berkshire trainer claimed Marmelo was the only horse ordered to be blood tested on raceday before the Melbourne Cup last year, in which Cliffs Of Moher suffered a fatal shoulder injury, and believes there are double standards for local and international runners.

Morrison, who says it costs connections a six-figure sum to race Marmelo in Australia, said: “I’m told Marmelo was the only horse to be both urine and blood tested on raceday. There’s different sets of rules for international horses and Australian horses.

"Jamie has said none of the Australian runners has been scanned but if he was doing a belt-and-braces job and believes what he has done with our horse is correct, then it’s difficult to accept that they haven’t scanned all the runners.

"They didn’t give us the veterinary report that Dr Forbes gave to the stewards and we weren’t able to give our views in relation to it. We asked to make verbal submissions and they were refused."

Ispolini (near): similarly ruled out of the Melbourne Cup by Racing Victoria stewardsCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Chris Connett, travelling head lad for Ispolini's trainer Charlie Appleby, said: “We’ll canter him through to the weekend and take stock then. It’s very disappointing for the team here and back home as everyone puts in such a big effort. We’re happy with the horse but will abide by the stewards’ decision.”

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