Henry De Bromhead has ruled out a trip to Melbourne for his Ebor winner Magical Zoe.
Following a decisive success in the 'win and you're in' Ebor at York last month, the Henry De Bromhead-trained mare was cut to a general 14/1 shot with firms for the 'race that stops the nation' in Flemington later this year.
However, after speaking with owners Patrick and Scott Bryceland, the Waterford-based handler has revealed a tilt at the prestigious cup race is not on her agenda.
Magical Zoe was allocated 52.5kg for the Flemington feature, while fellow Irish raider Vauban, who does look set for another trip to Melbourne, has been given a weight of 55.5kg, just 0.5kg less than when a disappointing 9/2 favourite for the feature twelve months ago. Willie Mullins' talented dual-purpose contender is now as short as 8/1 for the Melbourne Cup.
Connections of Magical Zoe may now look to revert their mare to racing over hurdles, with the six-year-old daughter of Shantou rated 143 in that sphere after finishing fourth in the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last season.
More to follow…