Dan Excel to Miss Rupert Clarke

Dan Excel (Ire) (Shamardal) is suffering from a virus which will cause the 6-year-old to miss his intended first-up run in Sunday’s G1 Sir Rupert Clarke S. at Caulfield in Sydney and casting some doubt on his participation in his major goal, the G1 Cox Plate Oct. 25, Racing and Sports reports. 

The bay gelding has been shipped to Melbourne from Sydney, where he has spent the last month following his arrival from Hong Kong. Trainer John Moore is hopeful his charge can make a recovery quickly enough to have what will become a single Cox Plate prep in the G1 Toorak H. over 1600 meters at Caulfield Oct. 11. Moore told Racing and Sports that he will not unduly stress Dan Excel to make the Toorak and that he will have no problem calling time on the Australian campaign as the situation dictates. 

Dan Excel spent the majority of the 2013-2014 racing season in the shadow of his more-accomplished stable companion Military Attack (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}), but emerged with a comprehensive victory in the G1 Singapore Airlines International Cup May 18, defeating favored Military Attack into third.