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Virus ends Pataca's Aussie adventure

Calling off the trip is common sense, says Moore

The W.S. Cox Plate dream of John Moore ended before it had begun after the trainer abandoned Melbourne campaigns for Viva Pataca and Viva Macau as the equine influenza outbreak in Australia escalated.

After last weekend's initial equine influenza (EI) outbreak, Moore spoke to Racing Victoria official Leigh Jordan and delayed the trip to see what direction the disease would take. But with the situation getting worse by the day in the state of New South Wales, the trainer decided to end the uncertainty and abandon the trip.

'The delay while we wait and see what happens has begun to throw the horses' preparations out, particularly Viva Pataca, who I had planned to run first-up over 1,800m in the Underwood Stakes,' Moore (pictured) said yesterday.

'That race is now going to come up too quickly if we were to go. So, taking into consideration the interruption to the horses' programmes, the worsening situation in New South Wales and the continuing uncertainty hanging over the situation in Victoria, I think the common sense thing is to abandon the trip.'

Moore will instead devise a domestic programme for the horses aimed towards the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Internationals in December.

The situation, which had already been grim, became catastrophic in New South Wales yesterday with the finding of positive EI cases in eight horses from 10 tested in one stable at Royal Randwick as the total number of positives in the state exploded to 488 with another 1,600 suspected cases.

Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'Landys said: 'It's more than a disaster, the racing industry is in turmoil. This will have a devastating effect and will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.'

The positives at Randwick, where some 700 horses are in training, meant the track has now been shut down completely, is unlikely to re-open for two months and the Sydney racing carnival is in tatters.

That will have implications for the important Melbourne spring carnival, including the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup, both as lead-up events and for the fact that Sydney horses make up a considerable proportion of the main participants every year.

The state of Victoria has so far avoided any positive EI findings but authorities there are now taking some extreme precautions to try to keep it that way.

Sydney-based jockeys Darren Beadman and Hugh Bowman had planned to ride at Caulfield when racing resumes in Melbourne tomorrow but were yesterday told they would not be permitted to do so as they had ridden trackwork at Randwick in recent days and may have come in contact with EI.

In addition, a number of Sydney and Brisbane-based trainers with runners at Caulfield have also been asked to stay away from the course.

The Australian government also announced an initial emergency fund of A$4 million (HK$25 million) to assist people employed in the racing industry in New South Wales and Queensland.

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