Moon sixth in Caulfield

Luca Cumani’s Purple Moon ran a satisfactory race to finish sixth behind Master O’Reilly in an eventful renewal of the BMW Caulfield Cup.

The drama came down at the start when 30 seconds before the off, red-hot favourite Maldivian had to be withdrawn.

Eskimo Queen, the second-favourite, became upset in the stalls and amongst all the commotion Maldivian managed to cut himself.

Both horses were withdrawn on veterinary advice, but Master O’Reilly also had to pass the vet having being involved in the scene.

The five-year-old showed no ill-effects though and produced a smart turn of foot to run down Douro Valley inside the final furlong. Both were trained by Danny O’Brien.

It was jockey Vlad Duric’s first victory in the Caulfield Cup.

Princess Coup finished third with the former Roger Charlton-trained Blue Monday in fourth.

Kerrin McEvoy met several pockets of interference when the pace quickened from his early position in the rear and ran a fine trial for the Melbourne Cup on November 6.