Pre-field favourite in Doomben Cup 2018 betting for Saturday week’s Brisbane major, Gailo Chop, has been ruled out of the race due to reinjuring a tendon.

Gailo Chop has re-injured a tendon ruling him out of Saturday week’s Doomben Cup 2018 field in Brisbane. Photo: Steve Hart.

Darren Weir’s in-form seven-year-old was tipped as the horse to beat in this year’s Group 1 $650,000 Hardy Brothers Doomben Cup (2000m) held on May 19 as the second elite level feature of the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival.

OTI Racing’s triple Group 1 champion however will miss the weight-for-age classic due to him reinjuring the same leg that has hampered previous campaigns.

“Unfortunately Gailo Chop has injured tendon and will be assessed for possible rehabilitation.  It’s same leg as last time. Naturally there’ll be no Doomben Cup for him,” OTI Racing announced on Twitter on Friday morning.

OTI’s Terry Henderson said the horse’s racing career was on hold until the team could confirm the extent and severity of the injury.

“We’ll get it assessed first properly but he’s out of the Doomben Cup,” he told Racing Victoria.

“It was the same leg as last time but we just don’t know the severity of it just yet.

“The early prognosis is that it’s a lesion in the scar tissue of the old healing.

“So it’s same place and same area but it’s too early to be too definitive on any way forward.”

Gailo Chop, last seen running second to the world’s best mare Winx in Sydney’s Group 1 $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) on April 14, was the short-priced favourite in futures Doomben Cup betting at Ladbrokes.com.au, markets opening right up with news of his withdrawal.

Elevated to the top of the all-in Doomben Cup odds is now the Anthony Freedman-trained Ambitious, the Japanese import out to improve on his eighth in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick last month.

Deep Impact six-year-old Ambitious is yet to win down under having had just the starts in Australia, his best result a second to Almandin at Rosehill on March 31 in the Group 1 Tancred Stakes (2400m).

The other best in the pre-field markets include Tom Melbourne and Comin’ Through for the race’s two-time winning trainer Chris Waller who took it out with Metal Bender (2010) and Beaten Up (2013).

Perennial runner-up Tom Melbourne comes off a lead-up second at the Gold Coast in the Group 2 A.D. Hollindale Stakes (1800m) from May 5, a race four-year-old stablemate Comin’ Through finished a close sixth in.

The A.D. Hollindale Stakes winning mare Oregon’s Day is also Doomben Cup bound chasing a double last completed by fellow mare, Streama, in 2014.

The Doomben Cup 2018 final field is set for release on May 16 making now the time to back your early favourites at their generous winter racing odds online now through Ladbrokes.com.au.