New Zealand stayer Jon Snow will miss the Melbourne Cup for the second year in a row with the five-year-old on his way home.

The 2017 Australian Derby winner finished last in the Caulfield Cup with trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman pulling the pin on his campaign, citing a lack of suitable options.

A year ago, Racing Victoria stewards refused to pass him to run in the Melbourne Cup with vets determining he was lame.

Jon Snow had to be reloaded after breaking through the barriers before Saturday's Caulfield Cup.

"Bursting through the gates didn't help," Forsman told NZ Racing Desk.

""Damian Lane said he came out of the gates the second time and felt like a bit of a stunned mullet.

"The plan was to work forward and he couldn't quite get there and was just planted three-wide without cover most of the way on a slow speed. Nothing really worked out and at that level things really do have to go your way."

Forsman said Jon Snow had pulled up well and was in top order but the trainers would now turn their attention to the autumn.

"He's great, he looks outstanding," Forsman said.

"He flies home on Wednesday night, so he will be back in New Zealand on Thursday morning.

"There were just a lack of options for him heading forward. In terms of weight-for-age, basically it was the Emirates on the last day of the carnival.

"That is going to be very competitive and looks another level-up, with those internationals, from what he competed against in the Makybe Diva. So that was always a hard race to wait around for.

"If we considered a handicap he is just too poorly off in the handicaps to be fair to him.

"We thought we might just be better off to bring him home, give him a little freshen-up and target a weight-for-age race at home and then consider our options heading into the autumn."

Baker and Forsman could still have a runner in the Melbourne Cup with Sydney Cup runner-up Zacada to contest Wednesday's Group Three Geelong Cup.