Horses Too Dear For American

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31248, 21 December 1966, Page 4

Horses Too Dear For American

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

SYDNEY.

A United States trotting buyer on Monday criticised Australian owners, who, he said, had an inflated opinion of their horses.

He is Mr W. Thompson, who returned to California last night after five weeks in Sydney.

“Australian horses are good, but they are not as good as their owners think they are,” Mr Thompson said. He said he had planned to spend £BO,OOO in the purchase of Australian trotters and pacers, but had not spent “a single dollar.” Some of the horses he had ■wanted to buy, with the purchase price in parenthesis, were: Delvin Dancer (£60,000), Sunset Chief (£12,000),' Ardrossan (£10.000), Extra Good (£8000). Fountain (£6000), and Brigade Scott (£4800). Mr Thompson said the New Zealand horse, Tactile, which is raced on lease by a United States owner, was the most successful of recent Austra-lian-New Zealand exports. He said at least three Australian owners had told him

their horses were “better than Cardigan Bay” when he indicated that he was keen to purchase. The recent influx of Australian and New Zealand horses into America had prompted United States trotting authorities to alter their grading rules.

After January 1 any foreign pacer must have his first three races against “preferred” class.

This means the horse will be against the strongest company from the outset Previously foreign home

were graded according to prize money they had won. With comparatively small stake money in New Zealand and Australia, the result was that the horses at first were loosely assessed in America.