MC: UK cup runner was "lame before the race"

In a story on the beaten international raiders for this year's cup, Sporting Life reports that British Cup entry Franklin Gardens went "lame a few days before the race" that stops a nation. The revelation comes too late for the punters that backed the horse only to see it run a bad last to Makybe Diva on Tuesday. The racing daily reports that "injuries beset the European Cup challenge this year, with Godolphin sending home their main hopes, Carte Diamond receiving a bad cut, Franklins Gardens going lame a few days before the race and Collier Hill also missing out." And Distinction pulled up so poorly after the event, it "will have a full body scan when it returns to Britain later this week".