Singspiel, Britain's leading Breeders' Cup hope, hobbled out of the championships when suffering a fracture at Hollywood Park yesterday. Vets were battling to save the leading money winner, hot favourite to land the Turf, after he was injured during exercise.

The setback occurred as Singspiel worked on a turf track shrouded in dense fog.

With visibility down to 100 yards he set off at a canter but when he emerged at the end of a circuit his rider Kevin Bradshaw had dismounted and was leading a clearly distressed colt back to his barn.

The colt was immediately ruled out of tomorrow's big race as Sheikh Mohammed's racing manager Anthony Stroud revealed the colt had fractured his right fore cannonbone.

"There is an obvious fracture. It has been x-rayed and we are now awaiting the results. He has been stabilised but we hope to know the seriousness of the fracture shortly," he said.

"Kevin Bradshaw said Singspiel bobbled about 10 yards from the line but felt up until then the colt had gone very well.

"He just breezed four furlongs when he noticed the bobble he didn't know how serious it was. It's only when he pulled up he realised how bad he was.

"He pulled up very very lame and it's got progressively worse. He has put under medication. It's a definite fracture but how bad it is we don't know until we get the results.

"Obviously we are very disappointed for the horse and everyone has come here, his lad, Kevin, Michael Stoute and Sheikh Mohamed. The Sheikh has campaigned him as a five-year-old and didn't run him in the Champion Stakes so that he could get to this race.

"He's done us very proud winning in England, Ireland, Dubai, Japan and Canada. The main thing is to try and save the horse because he's done so majestically well for us.

"It would have been his last race but obviously it's a lot better for this happen today than during the race on Saturday.

"I've rung up the boss to tell him what has happened but he was very very good about it, he is very concerned about the welfare of the horse and everyone connected with him. There is no better man when things go wrong than Sheikh Mohamed.

"He hadn't said whether he was going to come over but we didn't think he was. We were going to sit down and make a decision about Singspiel's future but obviously things will be put on hold now.

"The injury is unconnected with the near fore problem he had the other day."

Bookmakers removed Singspiel from the betting for the Turf. William Hill installed Chief Bearhart and Borgia as the new 7 to 2 joint favourites. Dance Design, whose victories include the Irish Oaks, Tattersalls Gold Cup and Pretty Polly Stakes, represents Dermot Weld and Moyglare Stud before being despatched to the Tattersalls December Sales at Newmarket on November 24th.

Ladbroke's spokesman Mike Dillon believe the championships will have now lost much of their interest to British punters.

"Singspiel was the centrepiece of the day as far as punters were concerned. The meeting has lost all its glamour now," he said.