Spring Racing Carnival – Entries & Info

Yikes indeed, Isinglass! Your promise to turn up wherever Yeats runs next could prove very expensive!

I recall young Mr O'Brien being very complimentary about the Melbourne tracks after his last trip to Australia, and it might make sense for some of the prospective shuttle stallions to show the Australian public what they can do on the track. I would be surprised, though, if any of the Breeders Cup contenders get sent there.
 
Yep, just turning out the piggy bank now, (lol)

Well, some of us fans could be there anyway, but sadly maybe not me personaly unless I remortage the house. I've a mate who lives quite near the track.
 
Still can't see them sending Yeats. They've entered everything to keep their options open, just like they do over here. After their experience with Scorpion last year they won't be taking any risks with Yeats.
 
a common handicap race manipulation, keep the best horse in your stable in the entries so as to compress the middle handicap and keep the weight off the one you really have set for the race
 
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Aidan was a huge fan of the Spring Carnival and what we had to offer here in Australia. However he has come out in the media confirming that no horse is a guarantee of coming, especially now that we have strict quarantine rules thanks to EI last year.

I cannot believe it will be almost 12 months come 29 August 2008.
 
From the RP:

Australian racing officials react to European fears

Quarantine restrictions may restrict overseas runners in the future.

David Carr

AUSTRALIAN racing officials Wednesday moved fast to quell European fears that extra quarantine restrictions would make it impractical to send runners down under for the Melbourne Cup.

Racing Victoria racing operations manager Leigh Jordon has spoken to Ballydoyle in the light of concerns Aidan O'Brien raised in the Racing Post on Wednesday and he has vowed to approach theGovernment if necessary in order to ensure runners are able to cross the world for the the spring carnival.

The new restrictions are a result of recommendations put forward by the Callinan Inquiry into last year's outbreak of equine influenza in Australia.
O'Brien, who has made 15 entries for the meeting, hinted they might disrupt preparations so much as to make it not worthwhile travelling and Jordon said: “I think Aidan's are quite sensible comments and very valid. We need to get to the bottom of it.

“I have already spoken to Ballydoyle, to the vet John Halley, and hopefully we can sort through the issues. I have been to Ballydoyle, it is a magnificent facility and for the last two years they have quarantined horses and brought them out to the Melbourne Cup with no issues - it has been done before so I don't see why it can't be done again.

“Of course we have to protect the country from disease but if the quarantine restrictions are impractical and they are a bit over the top we need to approach the Government and talk to them about it because we don't want Aidan not coming here because of restrictions that aren't practical.
“We don't want to lose Aidan, he is making headlines around the world, and he has put a record amount of nominations into our spring features - for us that is recognition of where our racing sits.

“But it is not just Aidan, we have entries from Sir Michael Stoute, Luca Cumani, Andre Fabre, Godolphin, Dermot Weld - we have got entries form leading trainers round the world, and this is something we are not taking lightly.”

Jordon stressed that it would be damaging for Australian racing if overseas runners were not able to compete in Melbourne this autumn.

“From our angle, we are the racing administrators and we want international competition and it is integral for our racing to be recognised worldwide,” he said.

“It is not only a horse running in the Melbourne Cup or whatever but it is the future export of our racing round the world and investment into Australia so it has a wide-ranging impact. It is not just the carnival, there is a bigger picture here, the way the world is heading with co-mingling and investment.

“We probably had the biggest outbreak of disease in Australian history so thereis going to be a tightening up of things but we have had horses come from Europe in the past and they have been quarantined at Ballydoyle and elsewhere and everything has worked fine so I can't see why it can't continue that way.”
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Isinglass said:
How early do the horses have to enter quarantine ? I heard it was directly following the Irish St Leger.
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I believe the quarantine period is a month. When Yeats went for the Melbourne Cup in 2006 he spent two weeks in quarantine at Ballydoyle and the other two weeks in quarantine when he got to Australia. The latest you could put them in quarantine then would be the first week in October.
 
Thanks Powerscourt, I was trying to work out if some of those entered in races in Melbourne could also take up other engagements beforehand.
 
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