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O'Brien Cox Plate runners under microscope

3 minute read

Irish-trained stablemates Armory and Magic Wand will have to pass a second veterinary test to run in the $5 million WS Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.

MAGIC WAND.
MAGIC WAND. Picture: Pat Healy Photography

Champion Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien's bid to win the WS Cox Plate for a second time will hinge on the opinion of three veterinarians.

O'Brien's runners Magic Wand and Armory failed a preliminary veterinary inspection on Thursday after showing signs of lameness.

"Magic Wand presented with lameness in her right fore limb, while Armory presented with a degree of lameness in his left fore limb," Racing Victoria said in a statement.

The Ballydoyle duo will undergo a further inspection on Friday led by two Racing Victoria veterinarians and an independent.

Of the pair, Armory is the more fancied to give O'Brien another Cox Plate triumph after he won it with Adelaide in 2014.

Armory is a $6 chance while Magic Wand, who is reportedly battling a foot abscess, is at $26.

All 14 Cox Plate runners were vetted on Thursday and only Armory and Magic Wand were declared in need of a second look to prove their fitness.

If they are ruled out, first emergency Buckhurst, trained by O'Brien's son Joseph, will elevated into the field.

Russian Camelot remains the favourite for the Moonee Valley $5 million weight-for-age contest that stands alongside the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup as one of three jewels of the Melbourne spring carnival.

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