The sale of an unraced horse is the subject of a Racing Victoria stewards’ inquiry.
Trainer Brent Stanley is under investigation after the unraced Equita was sold to Hong Kong.
Equita, who races in Hong Kong as Dancing Flames, won a Cranbourne barrier trial last year with Group winner Kinglike and the impressive two-time Sandown winner Popovich finishing behind him.
Chairman of stewards Terry Bailey said the inquiry was opened after a complaint from an owner.
Equita was purchased as a yearling for $60,000 by Stanley’s Cloud 9 Thoroughbreds and syndicated to a group of 10 owners that included Contract Racing, a company owned by RV chairman David Moodie and run by his wife Jenny.
Bailey said the ownership group was not a focus of the investigation.
“There is some complication because we’ve got some loose ends in Hong Kong that we need to follow up,” he said.
Dancing Flames won at his Hong Kong debut in October for Danny Shum and Chad Schofield before being placed at his next start.
Cranbourne trainer Dean Howard was disqualified for 18 months by the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board over the sale of a horse to Hong Kong interests.
Howard sold Convincible without the consent of all owners while informing some of a lower final sale price and keeping the extra funds,
