The Melbourne Cup dream for Terry and Katrina O'Sullivan is over with tough stayer Dolphin Jo ruled out of next month's race

Dolphin Jo, on track for his third successive Melbourne Cup, was discovered to have a slight tear to his near fore suspensory ligament at a regular vet check at Ballarat on Friday.

O'Sullivan said he was devastated by the news, after watching his stayer gallop as well as ever the day before.

He believes the injury may have occurred in the Caulfield Cup when finishing 15th in the Caulfield Cup behind All The Good.

Dolphin Jo finished 15th in the 2006 Cup then a gutsy fifth last year by Efficient.

Winning the Group 2 Winning Edge Stakes two starts back O'Sullivan felt the gelding was going better than ever and was keener than ever on this year's Melbourne Cup, hoping for a genuinely run race and a true staying test – conditions ideal for his lightly-weighted galloper.

He now hopes the six-year-old can recover in time for the Adelaide or Sydney Cups in the autumn, and maybe another try at the Melbourne Cup in 2009

仲望參加 2009 年，6歲喎老友