Horse racing's first day back at the office not only went off without a hitch on Tuesday but came with an unexpected bonus.
Because while horses flooded back to training tracks around the country and strict Covid-19 protocols became the norm, the borders between New Zealand and Australia took a huge step closer to re-opening for horses.
The transport of horses between New Zealand and Australia is a crucial part of the horse racing industry, whether the horses are travelling for racing opportunities, being sold or transferring stables, broodmares travelling to be served (mated) and yearlings purchased in either country heading to their new homes.
Flights of horses stopped when New Zealand went to Covid-19 alert level four and that meant some horses missed their shots at $1 million races while other horses with more moderate targets were left trapped here without racing while Australian racing continued.
But one of New Zealand's two main companies who flies horses to Australia and beyond, New Zealand Bloodstock Airfreight, conducted a successful test flight from Auckland to Sydney yesterday, paving the way for a return to horses moving between the two countries.
NZB Airfreight, who shares the New Zealand horse flying market with IRT, conducted the test flight with strict protocols including the professional grooms who travel with the horses not getting off the flight when it arrived in Sydney.