Luxembourg needs up to six weeks to recover from a training setback suffered last Friday – and will miss the Cazoo Derby at Epsom on June 4.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained son of Camelot was cut to 2-1 favourite for Epsom after a staying-on third in the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket nine days ago. But Luxembourg was pushed out to 6-1 for the principal Classic after suffering lameness to his off-hind leg after exercise on Friday.
And O’Brien, whose vets ran a series of tests to unearth the cause of the problem, ruled Luxembourg out of the Derby today. “It revealed that he had to have a month’s box rest – six weeks’ box rest – to let it heal, and there was no contest then to do the right thing about the horse,” said the Ballydoyle trainer.
“It’s muscular behind, and rest – that’s the only thing that was going to fix it. It’s like yourself – sometimes with muscular, you can keep going and sometimes you don’t.”
But O’Brien expects Luxembourg, who capped an unbeaten two-year-old campaign with victory in the Group 1 Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster last October, to return later in the year. “He has to get a month off – a month or six weeks’ box rest – but hopefully he’ll be back for the autumn. That’s the plan, anyway.”
Minutes after ruling out Luxembourg, the trainer won the Derby Trial Stakes at Leopardstown with Stone Age, who made all the running under Ryan Moore. He was immediately made the new favourite for the race at 4-1 with Sky Bet, ahead of Desert Crown.
O’Brien could be mob handed in the Paltinum Jubilee Derby and among his other possible runners are Changingoftheguard, Star Of India and United Nations.
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