Godolphin's Newmarket-based trainers Charlie Appleby and Saeed bin Suroor have informed Racing Victoria that they will not send horses to this year's Melbourne spring carnival amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Both trainers have enjoyed success at the carnival as of late; Charlie Appleby won the 2018 G1 Melbourne Cup with Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), while bin Suroor has saddled three runners up in the great race while Benbatl (GB) won the G1 Ladbrokes S. in 2018 and was second to Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) in the G1 Cox Plate.
The Australian state of Victoria has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases as of late.
“Both Saeed and Charlie have advised over the last few days that they won't be coming to Melbourne this year,” Racing Victoria General Manager of International Operations Paul Bloodworth told Racing.com. “Charlie Appleby advised last night that because of the change to Stage 4 restrictions, he wasn't comfortable sending his staff to Melbourne and Saeed has also advised he won't be coming.
“It's a great shame. Saaed has been a regular in Australia for 30 years and Charlie certainly over the last five or six years, so it's a shame they won't be able to compete.”
Plenty of other European-based trainers have engaged runners in the spring features-Aidan, Joseph and Donnacha O'Brien between them field 22 of the 182 entries for the Cox Plate on Oct. 24-but restrictions on staff travel into the country could yet scupper those plans.
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