Internationals arrive for spring carnival

Japanese galloper Admire Deus will have some company in quarantine following the arrival of 18 horses in Melbourne for the spring carnival.

The seven-year-old arrived on Monday and the others touched down in two planes on Saturday morning.

The Godolphin quartet of Francis Of Assisi and Qewy, who are returning, along with Folkswood and Kidmenever arrived early before a further 14 landed in the late morning.

The second plane included Red Cardinal for former Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Andreas Wohler and the Willie Mullins duo of Wicklow Brave and Riven Light.

Kaspersky, trained by Jane Chapple-Hyam and to be ridden by Michelle Payne, was also on the plane along with Aidan O’Brien’s pairing of Taj Mahal and Johannes Vermeer.

Two of the arrivals will transfer to the quarantine stabling being used by Admire Deus at the Werribee racecourse, while the other 16 will be stabled in another facility at the track.

Admire Deus, who is being prepared for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups by Darren Weir, will be joined by the Weir-trained Sixties Groove and Tony McEvoy’s Steel Of Madrid.

The trio will complete their quarantine before the arrival of another five European horses being aimed at the Melbourne Cup, including the O’Brien-trained US Army Ranger, the Lloyd Williams-owned Rekindling and the Mullins pair of Max Dynamite and Thomas Hobson, on October 14.

Credit: AAP

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