Racing Victoria (RV) advises that the plane carrying 19 of the 27 international horses scheduled to arrive in Melbourne tomorrow (Saturday, 29 September 2018) for the Spring Racing Carnival will be delayed by up to 14 hours in Sharjah, UAE.
The cargo plane sustained a cracked windscreen between London and Sharjah which now needs to be replaced. The quarantined horses remain on the tarmac at Sharjah under the watchful eye of veterinary staff and IRT flying grooms.
The horses are now expected to arrive in Melbourne, via Singapore, at around midnight Saturday evening to commence their two weeks post arrival quarantine at the Werribee International Horse Centre.
Those horses on the delayed flight are:
- Cliffs Of Moher (Aidan O’Brien)
- Fleet Review (Aidan O’Brien)
- Intelligence Cross (Aidan O’Brien)
- Spirit of Valor (Aidan O’Brien)
- Yucatan (Aidan O’Brien)
- Duretto (Andrew Balding)
- Danon Distance (Anthony Freedman)
- Red Verdon (Ed Dunlop)
- Withhold (Roger Charlton)
- Dal Harrald (Ciaron Maher and David Eustace)
- Pharrell (Ciaron Maher and David Eustace)
- Langley (Darren Weir)
- Casterton (Chris Waller)
- Count Octave (Chris Waller)
- Finche (Chris Waller)
- Shraaoh (Chris Waller)
- Gustavus Vassa (Team Hayes)
- Marathon Man (Mike Moroney)
- Sound Check (Mike Moroney)
A second plane carrying seven Godolphin-owned Carnival contenders, including Benbatl, Cross Counter and Best Solution, along with the Charlie Fellows-trained Prince of Arran will arrive in Melbourne around midnight this evening as scheduled.