Racing: Staying star out of contention

By MIKE DILLON

Kayf Tara, generally regarded as the world's finest stayer, has broken down again and will be missing from the Melbourne Cup.

The Godolphin-owned Kayf Tara has again gone amiss in a suspensory ligament preparing for Saturday's King George Stakes in England.

It is a repeat of the injury which saw him withdrawn from last year's Melbourne Cup only a week out from the race.

Godolphin trainer Saeed Bin Suroor said at the time he suspected Kayf Tara would be lucky to survive a further preparation, but Suroor got him up to win this year's Ascot Gold Cup, a race the horse won in 1998.

The breakdown is the worst possible news for the Victoria Racing Club and also for bookmakers, who are holding some large bets on Kayf Tara in the Melbourne Cup.

Nominations for the Cup close on Monday and under Government regulations bets on horses who do not nominate at that point are required to be refunded.

Racing Victoria's chief executive Greg Nichols said while the news is disappointing, it is not devastating.

"Godolphin will still be nominating eight or 10 horses for the Melbourne Cup.

"Kayf Tara is probably the best horse in the world in that category and it would have been lovely to see him here racing against Australasia's best, but we are still likely to see here the horses who finished second, third and fourth to him in the Ascot Gold Cup."

Nichols says the overall strength of the Northern Hemisphere attack on the Melbourne spring carnival will be massive.

"Numerically it will be the same as in 1999, which was good, and in quality it will be unsurpassed. Godolphin is committed to winning the Melbourne Cup and we'll see the evidence of that in November."

Kayf Tara had been the bookmakers' favourite on all charts since betting started, with New Zealand mare Showella second favourite on most charts.

Showella's co-trainer Frank Ritchie said yesterday he still feared whatever horses Godolphin entered.