The Peter Moody stable has been dealt a heavy blow with his middle-distance star Manighar suffering a injury that has ended his spring campaign.

Moody said the horse would have surgery on an injured knee and would then be spelled.

Manighar had been due to run in Saturday's Group One Caulfield Stakes (2000m) in his lead-up to the Cox Plate two weeks later.

The gelding has been a revelation since switching to Moody's stable and becoming a permanent resident in Australia after twice running in the Melbourne Cup in which he finished fifth last year.

Since then he has won the Australian Cup at Flemington and the Ranvet and BMW at Rosehill, all at Group One level.

Manighar's injury was revealed on the same day as the stable of his former trainer Luca Cumani announced its Cox Plate candidate Afsare had also suffered a leg injury placing his presence in the country's top weight-for-age event in doubt.