🔒 🔒 Messara’s quarantine headache gives way to a new-season Glow

If John Messara needed something to take his mind off the impending return of Autumn Glow, the lead-in to the new breeding season certainly provided it.

The Arrowfield principal endured a wretched run of misfortune with two of the Hunter Valley stud’s shuttle stallions encountering trouble in quarantine.

Messara and his colleagues were forced to rule out European sprinter Vandeek last week for what was to be his second southern hemisphere season due to a hind tendon injury.

On top of that, Arrowfield faced further trepidation as its Japanese shuttler, Maurice, spent an extended period in quarantine in Victoria after multiple ticks were found on his body.

It’s understood that testing found the ticks originated in Japan.

The discovery during inspections also meant that a group of Darley shuttlers, including Ghaiyyath and Too Darn Hot, Yulong’s Panthalassa and Woodside Park pair Benbatl and Laurel River remained in the Melbourne quarantine facility for longer than initially planned, due to the strict protocols in action in Australia. 

Those stallions were released on August 13 while Maurice was granted approval to head to Arrowfield only last Thursday, two days before the stud’s stallion parades.

“You couldn’t believe that those things have happened when we’re not really in control of things, they’ve happened during the quarantining in Victoria and it’s been very frustrating,” Messara told The Straight. 

“Maurice was found to have a tick in quarantine, subsequently an additional couple of ticks were found and, of course, that meant that he had to stay in, they had to test the blood a couple of times etc. 

“There was no consequential impact of the tick but nevertheless precautions call for a delay in the horse getting out, so he got out 10 days or so after quarantine had ended and which meant that he was only here for two days before (Saturday’s) parade.” 

While taking into account the stress the unexpected hold-up caused to Maurice, Messara acknowledged that the situation proved that the Australian quarantine protocols worked.

“I can’t understand how they can get out of Japan at their quarantine site and then come here at our quarantine site and not be sprayed,” Messara said. 

“It seems that whatever spray was used was probably inconsequential for those ticks and they remained there. 

“It’s something that should probably never have happened, but it did happen and these things can happen, but they happened to us twice in the one season and in quarantine, so it’s been very disappointing and it’s knocked our season around a bit.”

Despite the seasonal loss of Vandeek, the stallion is expected to make a full recovery and return to Cheveley Park Stud at Newmarket, when the veterinarians give him a clean bill of health.

“We are still mystified by what happened to him in quarantine. He was found in his box one day to be lame and to have an infected tendon in a lower hind leg around the fetlock and once the tendon gets infected you can’t play around,” Messara said. 

“They (vets) attacked the infection and the lameness has gone now, but obviously the tendon’s been infected and that calls for rehabilitation in time and so the veterinary advice was that it’s going to be three months before he’s back to square one and to leave him alone and not put the pressure on his hind legs through a breeding season.” 

Messara was at Randwick on Saturday to witness Autumn Glow’s first-up win in the Group 1 Winx Stakes, with the star mare putting 1-1/2 lengths on Sheza Alibi in what was billed as a match race.

The Arrowfield founder returned to Scone on Saturday night to be in attendance at the stud’s second stallion parade for the weekend none-the-wiser as to where Autumn Glow heads next.

Is she a contender for The Everest or an elite 1600m horse, putting the King Charles in the frame? Her trainer Chris Waller and Messara will discuss the various scenarios soon.

“We’re going to do that in about a week’s time when she sort of settles down after the race and we can see how she’s pulled up etc,” he said. 

“We’ll sit down in the cool light of day and just talk about it at that point.”