Victoria Derby winner Efficient is out of today's Melbourne Cup with a knee injury but favourite Tawqeet has passed a veterinary test and is set to take his place in the field.
Owner Lloyd Williams says Efficient had shown signs of soreness in his knee after a 400-metre workout this morning.
"He ran up over two furlongs this morning and when he cooled down he was sore in his knee," Williams told Melbourne radio 927.
"It is a great disappointment, I thought we were going to be part of history."
Efficient was aiming to become the first three-year-old since Skipton in 1941 to claim the Derby-Cup double.
Williams still has two runners, Activation and Zipping, in the Cup.
The David Hayes-trained Tawqeet was inspected by vets this morning after pulling a shoe off yesterday afternoon, raising concerns he may have injured his hoof.
Chief steward Des Gleeson said Tawqeet had trotted up in front of Racing Victoria chief vet John McCaffery.
"He showed no signs of soreness and we will have another look at him before the race but at the moment he is fine," Gleeson says.
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