Cox Plate winner Maldivian has been ruled out of the rest of the autumn carnival with a leg injury.
However, trainer Mark Kavanagh said the injury to his suspensory ligament was at the minor end of the scale and the triple group one winner would be back forthe spring.
"We discovered swelling to his near side front suspensory," Kavanagh said last night.
"We had the leg scanned immediately and it showed a small tear.
"We caught it all early. The injury is of minor significance."
Maldivian made a spectacular return to racing with victory in the group one C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) on February 8, his first start since the Cox Plate.
As well as making headlines for his feats on the track, Maldivian was also the subject of one of the most dramatic happenings on a racecourse when he was withdrawn from the 2007 Caulfield Cup after hitting his head on a piece of equipment erroneously left in the barrier stall.
The favourite for the race, Maldivian was led back to the enclosure with blood streaming down his neck.
Maldivian also missed most of the 2008 autumn when he suffered a hairline fracture of a knee after two starts.
He recovered but in the lead-up to the 2008 Cox Plate appeared to be out of form.
Kavanagh switched that around by fitting blinkers to the horse and he responded with an authoritative victory over Zipping and Samantha Miss.
He had been due to run in tomorrow's group two St George Stakes as a leadup to the Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 7.
The Gai Waterhouse-trained Theseo is now favourite for the Australian Cup ahead of 2008 winner Sirmione with both horses to run in the St George.
