The Gary Colvin-trained stayer strained a tendon when finishing sixth, beaten less than two lengths, in Sunday's Murrumbidgee Cup (1800m) at Wagga.

It was Noble Descent's final lead up run before the Cup after already booking his place in the field with victory in the $40,000 Albury Mile (1600m) at their carnival.

While disappointed, Colvin was also relieved the injury did not turn out to be much worse.

"I wasn't disappointed but I thought he might run a bit better than that (on Sunday) and then he pulled up with the strained tendon, which explained it," Colvin said.

"So it was a good effort, really.

"He had a scan and it's not torn so he'll go out for the winter. The good thing about it is that it's not torn."

Noble Descent was set to be Colvin's first Gold Cup runner since 2014, when Texan Son finished ninth behind the Chris Waller-trained Trade Commissioner.

Colvin will now have to wait a little longer for his next Cup runner to come along.

"It would have been great, you don't get the chance of having a crack at your home Cup all of the time," he said.

"I'll just have to wait for something else to come along now."

While the Cup is often the target of powerful metropolitan stables, Noble Descent shaped as a leading contender of the locals.

He had enjoyed a successful preparation, highlighted by wins in the Corowa Cup (1600m) and Albury Mile in March.

Colvin will now turn his attention to a number of other Gold Cup carnival hopefuls, which includes his city winner, Forever Newyork.

The $150,000 Wagga Town Plate (1200m) is on the agenda for Forever Newyork, who suffered a slight hiccup after finishing third in the SDRA Country Championships Qualifier (1400m) at Albury in February.

Colvin is now confident Forever Newyork will be right to line-up in the Town Plate and lead his Gold Cup carnival team, which also includes two-year-old Weja, who ran second at Wagga last Sunday.

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