Gai Waterhouse’s leading 2-year-old,  impressive Saturday winner Fighting Sun, is out of Golden Slipper contention after pulling up lame in the near front leg.

The son of Northern Meteor romped to a 3-length victory in the Listed Canonbury Stakes (1100m), prompting bookies to elevate the colt to the second line of Slipper betting at $6, behind Blue Diamond favourite Earthquake.

A disappointed Waterhouse remains hopeful Fighting Sun can come back bigger and stronger as a 3-year-old.

“We’ve just got to find out the full extent of the injury, which we won’t know until the swelling subsides,” Waterhouse told News Limited.

“He was the best-two-year-old (in my stable), but what can you do?

“These things happen to finely-tuned athletes, and they can go amiss. We saw it happen with Amelia’s Dream.”

Waterhouse is still likely to have a strong hand in the Slipper, with Blue Diamond contenders Nayeli and Francesco, Breeders’ Plate winner Law and a host of others.