Master trainer Aidan O’Brien confirmed overnight that his star 3-year-old Scandinavia aborted his trip to Australia after failing his compulsory scans for the Melbourne Cup.
It was announced in September the English St Leger winner wouldn’t travel to Australia but instead spell for another European campaign.
There was speculation Scandinavia wasn’t cleared by RV’s panel of vets, which O’Brien last night confirmed.
The vet protocols for the Melbourne Cup were introduced after a number of horses died in the race, with the most recent being the O’Brien trained Anthony Van Dyck. A report later suggested Anthony Van Dyck showed signs of lameness before the race but competed anyway.
O’Brien indicated his own vets thought Scandinavia was fit.
“He didn’t pass the scans … that’s the long and short of it,” he told At The Races.
“He is a three-year-old and obviously three-year-olds do have different bone structures than four-year-olds or five-year-olds and they’re maturing all the time and obviously their bones are filling in and that’s the way it is and that’ll never change.”
“Obviously everyone else thought that his scans were perfect but obviously when he went down in front of the Australian vets, they weren’t happy about it so that’s fine but obviously we tried to go.”
O’Brien actually defended RV’s ability to rule out his 3-year-old. He also said he’d continue to try to send horses to the Cup despite earlier suggestions he would now ignore the historic race.
“Obviously, we are only guests in Australia and we are delighted to be allowed to run when we are allowed to run,” he said.
“And that’s the way it is. When you go to Rome, you play by the Pope’s rules and that’s the way it is and that’s the way it is in Australia,” he said.
“So when you’re in Australia, you play by the Australian rules. And sometimes they fall in your way and sometimes they don’t. And if you don’t like it, that’s fine and whatever. But we’ll hopefully have horses to go and try again sometime.”
Exclusive: Why Scandinavia failed his Melbourne Cup vet checks 🏆@MCYeeehaaa speaks to Aidan O’Brien, who says they have to play by Australian racing’s rules… pic.twitter.com/1VKCbwEy9Y
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 28, 2025
