Panther misses Irish Leger Leading contender Brown Panther has been ruled out of Sunday's GAIN Irish St Leger at the Curragh. Joint-owned and bred by Michael Owen and trained by Tom Dascombe, the five-year-old was a close third in the Group One contest 12 months ago and was being geared towards this event and then the Emirates Melbourne Cup. However, he spiked a temperature on Thursday and having failed to eat anything during the entire day, Dascombe has had no choice but to rule his Goodwood Cup hero out of a trip to Ireland this weekend. Dascombe said: "Unfortunately, he won't be running on Sunday. "We've had him out for a canter this morning and he seems fine, but he didn't eat for some reason and we can't take any chances. "It's disappointing, but these things happen. Things could be worse, we've still got a horse left and we'll just have to see how long it takes him to recover and aim for something else. "He's in the QIPCO staying race at Ascot on Champions Day (Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, October 19) and the Melbourne Cup and both are still options for him. "If he is going to go to Australia, he doesn't have to go into quarantine until September 26, so we've got a few days for him to recover."
