This was not the wedding present Shane Tritton was hoping for.
The New South Wales trainer marries his stable driver Lauren Panella in Hawaii this weekend and was hoping to cap a magical month by training Arms Of An Angel to become the first Australian winner at the Jewels in a fortnight.
But that dream is over after the Miracle Mile placed mare was withdrawn from the Jewels yesterday with a virus.
Arms Of An Angel opened at $1.45 to win the four-year-old mare's division but trialled poorly at Menangle on Tuesday and left her connections with little choice but to pull the pin.
"We are gutted because we love Jewels day and racing in New Zealand," said Tritton.
"But clearly something is wrong with her so she will need a break."
Arms Of An Angel's withdrawal saw a huge reshuffle of the TAB market for the $150,000 mile, with Better Be Amazed the new $3.60 favourite just inside Expressive Victor at $3.80 in what now looks the most open Jewels race.
Meanwhile, even a vastly better draw than her key rivals hasn't been enough to sway bookmakers towards Golden Goddess in Saturday's NZ Oaks at Addington.
The three-year-old filly was the centre of a huge plunge in the Nevele R Final last Saturday, seeing her backed in from $2.50 to $1.60, but she was clearly outpointed by stablemate Dream About Me.
Golden Goddess has drawn the front line in the 2600m mobile Oaks and Dream About Me the second line but the latter has still opened as the $1.75 favourite with Golden Goddess at $2.60, with little chance of a dramatic odds reversal like last week.
More The Better ($1.80) shades Pacing Major ($2) for the Sires' Stakes Final as he attempts to become the first two-year-old pacer since Light And Sound in 2002 to win the Sires a week after capturing the Sales Series Pace last Saturday.
Habibti Inta is the $1.60 favourite for the Sires' Stakes Trot after drawing much better than arch rival Enghien.