Any suggestion that a lack of equine influenza vaccine in Australia was preventing exports to Asia was pushed aside earlier this week, when a flight carrying 21 new Australian horses landed in Hong Kong.
Most were unraced, including two nice Victorian barrier trial winners headed for the yard of last season’s champion trainer Dennis Yip – The Plank, formerly with Patrick Payne when he won his only trial, and Uncle Scrooge, previously handled by Jason Williams and unbeaten in two trial outings.
Another unraced notable was the Fastnet Rock gelding, Only One World, who was placed twice in Sydney trials for the Hawkes team, and will go to John Moore. The Hawkes-Moore connection has proved deadly in the past and produced three of the rising young stars to emerge last season in Hong Kong racing – Able Friend, Flagship Shine and Secret Sham, all of which will be aiming at the four-year-old Group One races in early 2014.
The three raced horses on the flight included dual Kembla winner, Court The Cat, on his way from Gary Portelli to lowly-ranked trainer Gary Ng, while John Size takes on Eagle Farm Maiden winner, I’m Not Over, and another dual Kembla winner from the Gai Waterhouse team, Swift Shadow, who will continue to race in the same ownership as he did in Australia.
Meanwhile, some Chinese language news outlets have reported that a September horse sale in Mongolia next month, part of the China Equine Cultural Festival, will include thoroughbreds from Australia, Ireland and France.
Mongolia has a long tradition of horse racing although not in a form that would be familiar outside of that country.
However, authorities in the upwardly-mobile mining country are keen to get recognisable thoroughbred racing under way, requesting assistance from the Asian Racing Federation last year to establish rules and to help with logistics.
By Nathan Mody
