Hoy's campaign hit by Badminton setback

TRIPLE Olympic gold medallist Andrew Hoy's Olympic campaign was dealt a severe blow at the weekend when he was eliminated from the three-day event at the Badminton Horse Trials in England.

Hoy was leading on 35.4 penalty points after the dressage discipline but was disqualified after his horse, Moon Fleet, had a fall in the cross-country.
The 49-year-old Australian won the event on Moon Fleet in 2006.
Compatriot Clayton Fredericks, riding Nullabor, was also in the top 10 after the dressage, but he and Olympic gold medallist Stuart Tinney, riding Vettori, retired during the cross-country. Fredericks was not riding his top horse and is expected to compete on Ben Along Time in the United Kingdom later this month.
The highest-placed Australian going into the showjumping last night was Matt Ryan, riding Bonza Puzzle. He was 10th on 56.3 penalty points.
There are five positions up for grabs in the Australian Olympic eventing team, to be announced on July 4.
Sonja Johnson, of Western Australia, has strong claims to a spot after winning the Bates Sydney International Three-Day event last month.
Selectors will be watching Shane Rose's performance at the Melbourne International next month. He was leading going into the showjumping at the Sydney International, but was ruled out after his horse, All Luck, failed to trot up.
The Beijing Olympic equestrian events will be staged in Hong Kong from August 9-21.

Boom times for breeders

AUSTRALIAN breeders, despairing last spring when equine influenza hobbled the thoroughbred industry, are back riding high as stallion service fees rise after the dizzy prices of last month's Sydney yearling sales.

Arrowfield is leading the charge to take advantage of the boom and the booming race performances of its stallions' progeny. It has announced that Hussonet, sire of emerging champion Weekend Hussler, will stand in the NSW Hunter Valley at $137,500 next season, up almost $100,000 on last year's $38,500.

Arrowfield boss John Messara said yesterday that last September he could not have imagined that equine influenza could have become a thing of the past so quickly as the market showed its resilience and international players such as Dubai's Sheikh Mohammed invested heavily in the Australian thoroughbred.

Hussonet, bought cheaply in Chile to stand at $24,750 in 2003, had been at $38,500 for two seasons. Last year, the horse served about 140 mares, but Messara will restrict him to 120 to ensure the stud gets another four or five years from him.

Even with 30-40 of the matings to be with Arrowfield mares, including Miss Finland and Alinghi, two of the best racehorses this century, the rise will bring in at least another $8 million for the stud next spring.

Last season's leading stallion Flying Spur also will stand at $137,500, up from $99,000 on the back of another good racing season with three group 1 winners — Forensics, Casino Prince and Dealer Principal.

Arrowfield will keep the service fee of Australia's dearest stallion, Redoute's Choice, at $330,000 after he had 49 yearlings sell for an average of $791,735 this season, with the top colt at $2.7 million and the top filly at $1.8 million. "The Australian horse is making it big worldwide, and the internationals are investing here, too," Messara said.

Hussonet and Flying Spur will be the equal-third-dearest stallions behind Redoute's Choice and Encosta De Lago.

Vet criticises DPI over outstanding EI vaccination payments

A Queensland vet says he is still thousands of dollars out of pocket for work he did for the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) during the horse flu outbreak.

Dr Stephen Tanner says he is disappointed that after stepping up to help during the equine influenza crisis, he is still waiting to be paid a third of the money he is owed by the DPI for vaccinations.
Dr Tanner runs a clinic at Warwick which was at the heart of the outbreak.
"We've had to pay our creditors and we've had pay bills along the way and we've had to increase our overdraft to cover that," Dr Tanner said.
Equine Veterinary Australia spokesman Dr Chris Reardon says DPI staff are working as quickly as they can.
"They have acknowledged they are behind and they're doing their best to catch up the situation," he said.
Dr Reardon says the DPI will try to pay all outstanding equine influenza accounts by the end of next month.