Diamond unlikely for Oz Royal Diamond is unlikely to head to Australia for the Emirates Melbourne Cup in November after he failed to sparkle in the Irish St Leger at the Curragh. The Johnny Murtagh-trained eight-year-old claimed the Group One in 2012 but he could only finish a well-beaten sixth behind Brown Panther on Sunday. Murtagh and owner Andrew Tinkler had been considering a possible tilt at the Melbourne Cup, but those plans appear to have been shelved. The County Kildare handler told At The Races: "The winner was gone, but Niall (McCullagh, jockey) just said a shower of rain would have done him good. "There's a couple of race from now until the end of the season, but I don't think he'll be going to Melbourne on the back of that." Royal Diamond still holds an entry in the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup - a race he won by a nose 12 months ago - at Ascot on Champions Day.
