Champion grey and winner of the 2007 Melbourne Cup Efficient is now an uncertainty to start in the 150^th edition of the Cup this November after being nominated for the famous feature last month.

Trained by Robert Hickmott, seven-year-old Zabeel gelding Efficient hasn’t raced since winning the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington last October.

Following his Turnbull Stakes victory, Efficient was scratched from last year’s Melbourne Cup on Victoria Derby Day and now owner Lloyd Williams has given him just a 20-80 chance of appearing in the $6 million feature this year.

The likely withdrawal from the 2010 Melbourne Cup is due to Efficient’s ongoing problems with his off front leg, which was behind his missing the race last year, with Williams fearful that the turf great may break down if pushed too hard this Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.

Since the announcement that Efficient is likely to miss the 2010 Melbourne Cup on Tuesday November 2, his odds have drifted out to $51 at [sportsbet].

[melbournecupodds]

Efficient is the second galloper this week to have their Melbourne Cup dreams put into serious doubt following the connections of Japanese stayer Jaguar Mail saying the late approval of Japanese quarantine facilities has left too little time to prepare the Tenno Sho winner for a Cup campaign.

Williams has pencilled in the Group 2 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield next Saturday for Efficient to resume racing, but is anything but certain that he will definitely run.

The ante-post betting markets for the 2010 Melbourne Cup are still dominated by the Bart Cummings-trained mare Dariana and last year’s champion Shocking who have shortened into equal $12 favourites at [sportsbet].

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