China plan for thoroughbreds put on hold

A plan to send thoroughbred horses from Ireland to China as part of a €38m deal, announced during a ministerial trade mission, has been put on hold.

Twenty thoroughbred mares were due to be shipped from the Coolmore stud in South Tipperary to Tianjin City this year in the first instalment in a strategic breeding partnership.

The thoroughbreds have been earmarked to pioneer the breeding element of an ambitious “horse city” in Tianjin, an industrial city 100km from Beijing.