Gai Waterhouse watches as horses at the International Quarantine Centre in Werribee perform track work. 89622
By XAVIER SMERDON
WITH the Melbourne Cup being run today, the Werribee Racing Club has been the subject of unprecedented interest over the last few weeks.
World renowned trainers and jockeys have flooded the race track and the International Quarantine Centre as some of the best horses in the world go about their training.
Last week it was feared that the health of the horses had been compromised by a virus outbreak.
But a spokesperson for Racing Victoria said there was nothing to worry about and that the Lloyd Williams owned horse, Hartani, had recovered quickly.
The spokesperson said preliminary tests on Monday 29 October indicated that the Irish horse had a mild infection and that he had been treated accordingly overnight.
“As part of the quarantine process, each horse’s temperature is checked twice daily. It was established that Hartani had an elevated temperature last night and as a precaution the horse was moved to the isolation box at the Vintage Crop stables,” Racing Victoria’s Head of Equine Welfare and Veterinary Service, Brian Stewart, said.
“The horse was treated promptly and his temperature had returned to normal this morning. A blood test was performed and the initial reports are that the horse is suffering from a mild viral infection and appears to be recovering quickly.
“As a routine precaution, veterinarians will monitor the horse’s progress over coming days, but at this time, we don’t expect this to have an impact on the preparation of the international horses being trained from the Vintage Crop Stables.”
