Horses charge

A catastrophe was narrowly averted at Stonewall Stud in South Auckland on Thursday afternoon when a small plane crash-landed on the property, the base of leading harness trainer Steve Telfer.

In a huge stroke of luck, no horses or humans were harmed in the incident, and only minor damage was done to the property.

‘‘It’s taken out a couple of wire fences and dragged them through the paddock,’’ said Stonewall Stud’s co-owner Jill Stockman.

A number of mares with young foals were spooked by the incident, but all escaped unharmed.

‘‘Luckily, they were one paddock over,’’ said Stockman. ‘‘It’s landed in our hay paddock, which hasn’t been done yet.’’

Stockman didn’t see the landing but was quickly on the scene after hearing the nearby horses charging around their paddock.

‘‘Two guys got out and walked away from it and then the police, fire and ambulances all rolled up soon after.’’

Stonewall Stud is in the flight path of nearby Ardmore Aerodrome and Stockman believes that is where the plane came from.

Saveapatrol sidelined again

Saveapatrol broke down yet again last week but his trainer, Mark Jones, is not about to throw the towel in just yet.

The eight-year-old Christian Cullen gelding cracked a pastern in his near side hind leg and now has two screws in each of his pasterns.

Jones has pretty much lost count of the number of times Saveapatrol has gone amiss but he can add up operations on six occasions.

No little Lazarus

Dunedin breeder Gavin Chin knows there will be no little Lazarus running around next spring.

Chin received the devastating news last week that his mare Bethany, the dam of Lazarus, had failed to get in foal this season.

The Christian Cullen mare had been mated to Bettor’s Delight in the hope she would produce a full sibling to the superstar.

Bethany, who is relatively young in broodmare terms at 10, will go two years without producing a foal.