Godolphin three-year-old Meursault will have to overcome a hoof injury to take his place in the $1 million Golden Rose.

One of the early favourites for the Ming Dynasty Quality at Randwick on Saturday, Meursault has sustained a crack to his near-fore hoof.

Meursault has been taken out of the Chelmsford Stakes meeting but trainer John O’Shea has told stewards he is confident the colt will be fit enough to contest the Golden Rose at Rosehill on Saturday week.

But he will have to pass a Racing NSW vets’ test before lining up in Sydney’s first Group One race of the new season.

Meursault is 38th in the latest Golden Rose order of entry but he seems certain to make it into race with enough horses already falling by the wayside or taking different spring paths.

Stablemate Sarajavo’s position is a lot more tenuous. He is 58th in the order of entry and is considered borderline at best to get into the field.

Both colts are $15 chances in latest Golden Rose betting.

Meursault met the backwash of interference when resuming on a heavy track in a roughly run Up And Coming Stakes.

The Randwick race was his first start since making an impressive debut with a Hawkesbury win as a late-season two-year-old.