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The King’s horse Desert Hero has been ruled out of a possible run in the Melbourne Cup in November.

Desert Hero would have been the first Royal runner in the Melbourne Cup since Arabian Story finished sixth in 1997.

The three-year-old finished three-and-a-quarter lengths behind Continuous in the St Leger, having kept on well in the closing stages despite appearing outpaced with two furlongs to run.

In an interview with the Mirror newspaper, Haggas said: "Desert Hero won't run in the Melbourne Cup. We thought he had a hard race at Doncaster and we want to give him more time.

"He passed the tests we put him through so we had to make a decision. He'll have a nice break now.

"We wouldn't rule out running him in the race in the future – and we hope his is bright."