Sydney horse sale 'rejuvenates industry'

Sydney is hosting its first thoroughbred sale since equine flu took hold, in a further sign the New South Wales horse industry is bouncing back from the outbreak.
The Hunter Valley's thoroughbred studs were among the hardest hit by the flu outbreak, causing the industry to lose millions of dollars in breeding fees.
The introduction of quarantine zones eventually got the breeding season back on track and some of those studs will be further buoyed today, when their horses go under the hammer at the William Inglis Christmas thoroughbred sale.
Strict quarantine measures will be in place when the 88 horses are offered at the sale at Newmarket, down from 200 last year.
Spokesman Jonathon D'Arcy blames the reduction in lots on the flu outbreak, which has led to stringent controls on the horses being offered.
"The horses coming here have to have either had the disease and been resolved or have been vaccinated," he said.
"So any horse that isn't in one of those two categories couldn't come to the sale, which is unfortunate.
"We had many, many horses wanting to be sold that we couldn't sell because they weren't either vaccinated or resolved."
But Oliver Tait, from Aberdeen's Darley stud, says it will be a good morale booster.
"It's terrific and following on from the first race meeting at Randwick last weekend, it's great that things are heading towards normal," he said.
The brood mare Sensuous and the bay gelding Rightson are tipped to fetch the top prices.