Bookmakers received a windfall yesterday when one-time favourite Speed Gifted was withdrawn from Tuesday's Melbourne Cup.
Trainer Lee Freedman said that ''the soreness'' that the imported stayer had emerged with from last Saturday's Cox Plate made it impossible for a genuine Melbourne Cup preparation.
''He came through Moonee Valley pretty sore and it was far from the ideal lead-up to a Melbourne Cup that's just a week away,'' Freedman said yesterday.
''We've done a few things with him since Saturday but I've decided now that he'll go to the paddock.
''I know that it's unfortunate but many trainers have been in the same position so close to a Melbourne Cup and yet not make the race.
''It goes with the territory, I suppose.''
Speed Gifted finished well back in last Saturday's Cox Plate but it was revealed after the race that the former English galloper had jarred up on the firm surface at Moonee Valley a symptom that strikes many European horses, according to Freedman.
''It's always a problem, they're not used to such hard tracks but he copped one on Saturday and the extent of the soreness made it impractical for us to push on to a Melbourne Cup,'' he said.
''We'll go to the paddock with him now and bring him back in the autumn and he certainly would've benefited from his spring campaign.
'''Sydney in the autumn should be ideal for him as they often have wet tracks during their carnival and this bloke seems to relish the fire out of the track.''
Speed Gifted made a remarkable rise during the Spring Carnival following his devastating win in the Metropolitan Handicap, a victory that propelled the import into favouritism for the Caulfield and Melbourne cups.
But the rigours of his five-length success in the Metropolitan took their toll on Speed Gifted who was subsequently withdrawn from the Caulfield Cup, a race for which he was favourite.
It also means that Speed Gifted's owner Jean Mac Chatam, a Frenchman living in Geneva, will abandon his plans to fly into Melbourne to see Speed Gifted, a horse he paid $200,000 for as a yearling.
But while it was a significant loss for Freedman and the connections of Speed Gifted, it was another bonus for doubles bookmakers across Australia.
Speed Gifted was well supported in doubles, firstly in the Caulfield Cup and then the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup, following his Metropolitan success.
Leading doubles operator Michael Eskander, the principal of corporate bookmaking firm Betstar, admitted that Speed Gifted's withdrawal was a good result for bookmakers.
''He'd attracted a lot of attention since his win in the Metropolitan, both in straight-out and doubles betting,'' he said.
Doubles bookmakers have enjoyed a profitable spring carnival so far following the success of Viewed in the Caulfield Cup, who was largely considered a Melbourne Cup threat, while So You Think, who was victorious in the Cox Plate, was only considered a chance in the week leading up to the Group 1 race.
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