132 Aust Imports Arrive In Singapore Quarantine

In Singapore, 132 horses from Australia (delayed due to last year's equine influenza outbreak) are beginning their 3-weeks in quarantine (at Horsecity at Bukit Timah & the Singapore Turf's Club facility at Neo Tiew Road) before heading to their respective trainers. The horses have arrived in a series of shipments: 32 from Perth on March 27, 18 from Melbourne & Perth on Wednesday (April 2), 29 yesterday (April 3) & 53 from Melbourne tomorrow (Saturday April 5). Singapore Trainer's Association president Len Treloar (who has 17 horses in quarantine, a "mix of 2YOs & 3YOs) declared: "It's been a long wait for all concerned, but it's a huge relief to finally get them here. It's a great relief for everybody concerned, but especially for all the owners who have been persevering with their horses. While the EI outbreak has had a dramatic impact on all of us here in Singapore, it's had a huge impact on Australia. I just can't wait to get the horses into the stables & get them into work. The next 3-6 months are going to be very interesting, but I'm certainly looking towards the future." Treloar purchased horses in Australia 9 months ago which were in quarantine, ready to travel to Singapore when the EI outbreak hit Australia; these horses had been "in & out of training in Australia preparing for their importation into Singapore in the hope of quickly making it to the racetrack". But the quarantine period (3 weeks in Australia & a further 3 weeks on arrival in Singapore) meant they "would not be ready to race until August, at the earliest, after inactivity during their confinement". Among other trainers: Brian Dean has 15 Australian horses to enter his stables (including the former David Hayes-trained 4YO Sendeed, a son of Montjeu raced by Dubai's Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Shadwell Stud who has 6 wins from 20 starts); Cliff Brown (one of the hardest hit by the EI outbreak as the majority of his stable was left behind when he made the move to Singapore last December) has 11 horses from his farm at Narbethong (north-east of Melbourne) now in quarantine with more to come in further shipments in the coming weeks; newcomer Michael Freedman & Desmond Koh both have 15 horses currently in quarantine; Don Baertschiger has 14, along with John Meagher (8), Michael Clements (7), Patrick Shaw (7), Steven Burridge (6) & David Hill (5).