O'Brien has grounds for concern in Melbourne

Aidan O’Brien says he does not want to see fast conditions at Flemington ahead of Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup and is calling on the Victorian Racing Club to present ’safe ground’ for Australia’s biggest race.

With Melbourne in the midst of one of its driest Octobers on record, O’Brien is concerned at the prospect of his main hope Septimus or his other runners Honolulu and Alessandro Volta jarring up on a hard surface.

While rain is forecast for each day in the run-up to the big race, O’Brien remains worried about the possibility of unforgiving conditions.

The Ballydoyle maestro said: “We want safe ground. It gives every horse a chance and no-one wants hard ground where horses are going to get injured.

“All we want is ground where the horses will come back safe and I think everybody, including the Australian trainers, would agree with that.”

O’Brien’s chances of landing a first Melbourne Cup have been made easier by the scratching of defending champion Efficient.

Efficient, who is owned by three-time Melbourne Cup winning owner Lloyd Williams, was considered Australia’s best chance in a field set to be dominated by a record nine European challengers.

But connections of Efficient have confirmed that the five-year-old has injured the fetlock joint in his offside front leg and immediately scratched him from the race.

“In layman’s terms he sprained his ankle, rolled his joint,” said trainer John Sadler. “But in the long-term he will be ok.”

Sadler’s other two Cup runners, Zipping and C’est La Guerre, will take their chance, with Sadler declaring the duo ready to go.

“We are all disappointed about Efficient, but on with the show,” Sadler added.