Harpo Marx was scratched when his results arrived hours before the Moonee Valley Cup, which is one of the last Melbourne Cup lead-ups.

James McDonald’s mount, British-trained Away He Goes, was also ruled out of the race on Wednesday after being found to have a tendon issue. Racing Victoria also reported the connections of Hasta La War, Mosh Music, Constantinople, Tooradin and Amade wouldn’t be final acceptors on Saturday.

Two-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Joseph O’Brien – who prepares defending champion Twilight Payment – and his father, Aidan, have expressed frustration with the strenuous process Racing Victoria has subjected international horses to for this year’s spring carnival.

After Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck became the sixth horse to die in the Melbourne Cup in seven years, Racing Victoria adopted 41 recommendations from a welfare review designed to make the carnival safer.

But the policy is seemingly at odds with other states, as Cox Plate scratching Gold Trip was declared fit to run in the Rosehill Gold Cup on Saturday after arriving in Sydney.

A panel of Racing Victoria vets deemed the Australian Bloodstock-owned import unsuitable to run last week owing to perceived lameness, frustrating co-trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, who insisted he was sound.

The stallion is set to make his Australian debut seven days later in another state jurisdiction.

‘They have to take a completely fresh look at it. We deal with vets around the world and many of them have no interest in the Melbourne Cup.’

Terry Henderson

One of the country’s leading syndicators, OTI’s Terry Henderson, described the situation as a “can of worms”.

“It’s really a can of worms we shouldn’t have to face,” Henderson said. “You might as well be racing between England and Italy; the states are just doing their own thing.

“Putting aside programming, there’s no commonality at all between what one regards as an appropriate way for a horse to be taken to the races and what another believes is an appropriate way for a horse to be taken to the races.

“I can understand vets having a different opinion of a horse’s soundness for racing. That goes with the territory. We often fail horses in Europe only to find someone else has bought them, and they land out here with a different vet report. That’s an opinion issue.

“Above that, when it comes to a national jurisdiction actually racing horses, it’s a far more serious issue. It brings in the potential for actions that we simply don’t want in racing.

“We all know there are horses that are perfectly sound that trot up scratchy. We owned Doriemus and he could not trot; he went from a walk to a canter. If we applied the rules as they are now, he would never have run in the Melbourne Cup.

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“I think they have to take a completely fresh look at it. We deal with vets around the world and many of them have no interest in the Melbourne Cup.”

Gold Trip was a $3.90 second favourite for the Rosehill Gold Cup with Sportsbet, trailing Think It Over ($2.90), who will earn a $1 million bonus if he wins the race.

In a statement on Thursday, Racing NSW said vets Dr Toby Koenig and Dr James Cleland inspected Gold Trip after receiving reports from Racing Victoria. Racing NSW said Gold Trip did not present “with a heightened risk for injury”.

“On the basis of a lameness examination undertaken [on Thursday] morning, the gelding has been deemed suitable to start this Saturday,” a statement said. “Racing NSW veterinarians will continue to monitor the entire in the lead-up to Saturday’s race.”