Protectionist will not defend his title in the Emirates Melbourne Cup at Flemington on 3 November.
Now in training with Kris Lees, having last year won the big one for Ryan Moore under the tutelage of German handler Andreas Wohler, the five-year-old entire has suffered what could be a career-ending injury.
Lees told the Age: "We sent him down to the Werribee veterinary clinic after his Caulfield Cup run and they gave him an MRI scan and deep-seated soreness in his bones was evident but what made it difficult was the horse was never outwardly sore.
"But pressure went on and the concussion of hitting the ground was affecting the horse.
"We would have loved to have been part of the Melbourne Cup, but it's just not to be.
"I was quite thrilled midway through the Caulfield Cup last Saturday as he was moving into the race like the old Protectionist, but once the pressure went on you could see he was starting to feel the pain.
"He could have another (Melbourne Cup) preparation and against that he's a stallion and he could well go to stud."
