You noted the other runners went well. I'm not one to usually bat for the tonkin/stewart stable but the comments about the retention barn are unfair.
We need to remember the horses were floated up a couple of days before in the heat, which takes all day.....a loooong trip. Then put in unfamiliar surroundings (he is still a stallion) and raced at 11pm. We just need to consider that some horses cope with the upheaval better than others. They aren't machines, it's not like taking a drag car on a trailer to race interstate. Given the times he ran at Melton, I would say he performed below his best.