Signs of life

SYDNEY – Trainers including Gai Waterhouse, John O'Shea, Grahame Begg and Bart Cummings are celebrating a return to trackwork at Randwick this week.

“We’re back on track, literally! I returned to the clocking tower in the centre of Randwick today to train the horses. I have not been in this position for nearly three months,” said Waterhouse.

Waterhouse said standouts at Monday’s trackwork were Al Mahboob (Secret Savings).

Magic Albert filly Lieserl, More Than Ready filly Sambar and Fantastic Light colt Fizeau were among others.

Waterhouse was forced to be a spectator during the Flemington carnival because equine influenza had wiped out her stables and prevented any horse in NSW from crossing the Victorian border.

Racing resumes at Randwick on December 1 - a meeting that was yesterday declared open to all racehorses in NSW.

Waterhouse has 100 horses back in work in the wake of the EI epidemic. Forty of those horses will trial at Randwick on Friday.

Racing NSW met with the Department of Primary Industries yesterday to discuss which horses could attend the Randwick meeting.

Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'Landys said the program would be open to all horses. However, those horses travelling from green zones, or uninfected areas, would need to be segregated for 14 days once they return home.

The plan is likely to be approved by the DPI's national body in coming days.