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Trainer Lee Freedman yesterday gave no further indication of whether Makybe Diva would chase an unprecedented third Melbourne Cup next Tuesday.

But the collapse last night of the sale of one-time Cup favourite Plastered to a syndicate of prospective buyers organised by Freedman means the Hall of Fame trainer certainly won't have two runners in the nation-stopper.

Plastered was transferred from trainer Lindsey Smith to Freedman yesterday after a $1.6 million bid from the syndicate to buy managing owner Janelle Harvey's 60 per cent share. But it is believed Freedman last night informed Plastered's connections and potential syndicate members that the horse had failed veterinary tests and the deal was off.

A source close to the Freedman camp said the $1.6m price tag was too high for a horse struggling to overcome his problems in the wake of a disappointing seventh in the Caulfield Cup earlier this month.

But Freedman at least had no concerns over his main Cup contender, Makybe Diva. The star mare and Plastered were among the 37 entries left in the Cup at third declarations yesterday.

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Advertisement"Tomorrow we'll put a saddle on her for the first time since the Cox Plate," Freedman said. "She'll have a couple of long canters."

Freedman said nothing had changed when asked if he and Makybe Diva's owner Tony Santic were any closer to deciding whether the seven-year-old would run in the Cup. "She went to the beach, she had a swim this morning," he said. "She loves all that and she spent the afternoon in the paddock on the grass."

Makybe Diva turned in a breathtaking performance to win last Saturday's Cox Plate, but the trainer and owner have nothing but the mare's welfare at heart.

"I'm pretty happy with how things are progressing at this stage," Freedman said.

The mare has been nominated for Saturday's group 1 Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington.

"If we decided we weren't going to run in the Cup and she was nice and fresh, if we wanted to race her for the public, the Victoria Racing Club, we would give some thought to running in the Mackinnon," Freedman said.

Plastered is also nominated for the Mackinnon but his future is up in the air. Smith said last night Harvey, whose husband Paul has been Plastered's regular rider, had phoned him with news of the failed vet tests. The results are understood to have outlined respiratory problems.

Smith said he was still available to train the horse and would await instructions from Harvey this morning.

Last night's twist came just hours after a heartbroken Smith revealed the reasons behind his decision to turn his back on Plastered despite an 11th-hour bid from his stable clients to help him keep the stayer.

Part of the $1.6m bid for Janelle Harvey's share of Plastered was understood to have included the four-year-old's remaining part-owners, Elio and Jaqui Galante, paying $400,000 to boost their share 15 per cent to 55 per cent.

Smith, who trained Plastered to nine wins in 15 starts, said his business conscience had overruled his heart when he rang Galante at 6pm on Sunday to renege on a deal to buy 45 per cent of the horse for $1.2m and keep the young star in his care.

Smith said the bizarre saga, which has raged since Plastered's disappointing run in the Caulfield Cup, had forever soured what should have been glowing memories of a horse that won him the Victoria Derby a year ago.

"The bad has overrun the good - the saddest part is I had to leave him and he doesn't even know why," an emotional Smith said. "I was basically about to be sacked, so to keep my job I had to buy my own business back. I'm not a very good businessman, but it would not have been a very good business decision. I got to the death-knock, but felt it wasn't right because he was overpriced.

"The whole thing consumed me too much and when I took the emotion out and asked if I'd part with the money, especially when a lot of them [prospective investors] were my friends, I said no."