The first charter flight for Thoroughbreds from Australia to China, carrying 81 horses and conducted by Shanxi Yulong Horse Corporation, arrived at Taiyuan Wusu International Airport in Shanxi on June 27, according to Chinese horse racing media company Daluma. This comes less than six months after an Irish charter flight delivered 76 Thoroughbreds to the region.
“Our aim is at least two planes of horses each year and we have achieved that goal this year,” Zhang Yuesheng, chairman of Yulong Horse Corporation, told Daluma.com.
Yan Yufang, director of the animal inspection office and inspection and quarantine bureau, added, “These 81 Thoroughbreds from Melbourne came [directly] to Wusu International Airport for the first time. We offered Yulong Horse Corporation one-stop service for customs clearance to make sure the 81 horses got into customs and arrived at the specified isolation space quickly. The import of the horses is of great significance in promoting the transformation of the Shanxi industry.”
Yuesheng said the horses would be ready to race in September, and Wang Weidong, chairman of China Horse Owner League and president of Hebei Dongxing Horse Club, told Daluma.com nearly 20 racehorse owners met the horses at the airport to select their favourites.
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