New Zealand Melbourne Cup hopeful Mahrajaan has been pulled from the race following a scan failure, as Racing Victoria stewards announced on Derby Day, just before the final Cup acceptances deadline.

The Shaune Ritchie-trained stayer, who was to be ridden by jockey Declan Bates, joins a growing list of horses withdrawn due to scan results, including former favorite Jan Brueghel, as well as Muramasa and Brayden Star.

Mission Of Love, trained by Sheila Laxon and John Symons, was also ruled out on Friday. Meanwhile, horses Interpretation and Onesmoothoperator were cleared to race after undergoing secondary veterinary inspections on Saturday morning.

Regarding Mahrajaan’s withdrawal, Racing Victoria stewards explained, “The independent imaging panel deemed the horse to be at heightened risk of injury based on the results of its CT scan.”

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