A total of eight overseas gallopers, including the second highest-rated international horse to have competed in Australia, have landed at Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport this morning ahead of their raid on the Spring Racing Carnival’s riches.
Seven thoroughbreds from Godolphin’s UK operation, including multiple Group 1 winners Benbatl and Best Solution, were among the valuable cargo which touched down in the early hours of the morning.
They were joined on the early shipment by Prince of Arran, whose emerging English trainer Charlie Fellowes is sending a galloper to Australia for the first time.
The second shipment of international horses, which had been due to arrive around 12pm this afternoon, is currently in Sharjah after the plane carrying them from London sustained a cracked windscreen.
The 19 horses have been fed and watered and are in good condition, according to the veterinary staff and IRT flying grooms monitoring them.
The plane is now scheduled to land in Melbourne in the early hours of tomorrow morning. Upon arrival, the horses will be transferred to Racing Victoria’s (RV) Werribee International Horse Centre, where they will join the eight early arrivals.
They are Saeed bin Suroor’s stable star Benbatl, who with a rating of 123 is behind only the 2002 Cox Plate (2040m) placegetter Grandera on the all-time spring raiders’ ratings list.
Benbatl will attempt to increase his tally of Group 1 wins when he tackles the world’s highest-rated horse, Winx, in Australasia’s weight-for-age championship at The Valley on Saturday, 27 October.
His stable companion Best Solution holds entries for both the Stella Artois Caulfield Cup (2400m) and the Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m), whilst the Charlie Appleby-trained trio Emotionless (Caulfield Cup, Ladbrokes Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup), Cross Counter (Melbourne Cup) and Hamada (Melbourne Cup) all have their eyes on the biggest prizes over the Spring Racing Carnival.
Their stablemate Comicas, who will target the carnival’s feature sprint races, was also on the plane, together with bin Suroor’s stayer Prize Money, who has a Group 2 victory in Dubai on his impressive CV.
The eight horses have settled into their new surroundings at Werribee alongside Ladbrokes Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) hero Jungle Cat, last year’s Cox Plate placegetter Folkswood and Blair House, who will make his Australian debut for Appleby in tomorrow’s Group 1 Hyland Race Colours Underwood Stakes (1800m).
Two high-class Japanese raiders, Chestnut Coat and Sole Impact, will take the number of Werribee residents to 32 – the maximum permitted – when they arrive on Monday, 1 October.